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Democracy Unchained: Contractualism, Individualism, and Independence in Buchanan’s Democratic Theory

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  • John Thrasher

    (Chapman University)

Abstract

Contrary to the claims of some of his critics, James Buchanan was an ardent democrat. I argue that Buchanan’s conception of democratic governance organized by a contractually justified constitution is highly distinctive because of his commitment to a strong conception of individualism. For Buchanan, democracy is neither justified instrumentally—by the goods it generates—nor by reference to some antecedent conception of justice. Instead, democracy is the only political option for a society that takes individualism seriously. One implication of this view is that democracies can only be limited by the rules they collectively give themselves in the form of constitutions. I explicate this conception of democracy and address some of its implications, assumptions, and challenges.

Suggested Citation

  • John Thrasher, 2019. "Democracy Unchained: Contractualism, Individualism, and Independence in Buchanan’s Democratic Theory," Homo Oeconomicus: Journal of Behavioral and Institutional Economics, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 25-40, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:homoec:v:36:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s41412-019-00085-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s41412-019-00085-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Brennan,Geoffrey & Lomasky,Loren (ed.), 1997. "Democracy and Decision," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521585248, September.
    2. List, Christian & Pettit, Philip, 2002. "Aggregating Sets of Judgments: An Impossibility Result," Economics and Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 89-110, April.
    3. Kliemt, Hartmut, 2011. "Bukantianism—Buchanan's philosophical economics," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 275-279.
    4. Frank H. Knight, 1950. "Economic and Social Policy in Democratic Society," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(6), pages 513-513.
    5. David Gauthier, 2013. "Achieving Pareto-Optimality: Invisible Hands, Social Contracts, and Rational Deliberation," Rationality, Markets and Morals, Frankfurt School Verlag, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, vol. 4(78), November.
    6. James M. Buchanan, 1954. "Social Choice, Democracy, and Free Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(2), pages 114-114.
    7. Gordon, Scott, 1974. "Frank Knight and the Tradition of Liberalism," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(3), pages 571-577, May/June.
    8. James M. Buchanan, 1954. "Individual Choice in Voting and the Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(4), pages 334-334.
    9. Ken Binmore, 1998. "Game Theory and the Social Contract - Vol. 2: Just Playing," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 2, number 0262024446, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Roland Fritz & Nils Goldschmidt & Matthias Störring, 2023. "Contextual liberalism: the ordoliberal approach to private vices and public benefits," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 195(3), pages 301-322, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    James Buchanan; Democracy; Contractualism; Liberalism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B3 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals
    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology

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