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The Status Quo in Buchanan’s Constitutional Contractarianism

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  • C. M. Melenovsky

    (Suffolk University)

Abstract

When Buchanan discusses the constitutional changes that members of society would agree to, he uses the status quo as the default. If no agreement occurs, we continue with the constitutional rules that are currently in place. This article argues that this choice results in an unjustified status quo bias. To make this point, I examine and challenge three possible arguments in favor of using the status quo as the default. Then, I give two arguments in favor of a form of contractarianism that does not use the status quo as a default.

Suggested Citation

  • C. M. Melenovsky, 2019. "The Status Quo in Buchanan’s Constitutional Contractarianism," Homo Oeconomicus: Journal of Behavioral and Institutional Economics, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 87-109, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:homoec:v:36:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s41412-019-00088-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s41412-019-00088-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. James M. Buchanan, 1997. "Politics, Property, and the Law: An Alternative Interpretation of Miller et al. v. Schoene," Chapters, in: Svetozar Pejovich (ed.), The Economic Foundations of Property Rights, chapter 5, pages 66-80, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. James M. Buchanan, 1992. "On Some Fundamental Issues in Political Economy: An Exchange of Correspondence," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Essays on the Methodology and Discourse of Economics, chapter 10, pages 201-230, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Samuels, Warren J, 1972. "In Defense of a Positive Approach to Government as an Economic Variable," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(2), pages 453-459, October.
    4. Geoffrey Brennan & Alan Hamlin, 2004. "An Introduction to the Status Quo," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 127-132, June.
    5. Hartmut Kliemt, 2004. "Contractarianism as Liberal Conservatism: Buchanan's Unfinished Philosophical Agenda," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 171-185, June.
    6. Samuels, Warren J, 1971. "Interrelations Between Legal and Economic Processes," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(2), pages 435-450, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mingyu Liu, 2024. "Structural and functional analysis of Buchanan’s constitutional contract," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Status quo; James Buchanan; Contractualism; Normative analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals

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