James M. Buchanan and Young J. Yoon, Individualism and Political Disorder

Abstract

James M. Buchanan was a towering figure in 20th century economics. He did not single handedly resurrect classical political economy in the second half of the 20th century and rescue it from the Marxist interpretation or the technocrats’ disregard, but any account of modern political economy would be woefully incomplete without giving Buchanan primary of place in the narrative. His main insights are basic: (1) one cannot engage in public economic analysis without postulating a theory of the st...