Public choice and political philosophy

Abstract

That economists gladly embrace public choice theory is not hard to explain—indeed, to explain using the precepts of public choice itself. Economics is an imperialist discipline that has extended the range of its theorizing from comparative pricing of deer and beaver to markets for spouses, rational criminal behavior, and the comparative return to Batting Averages versus On Base Percentages. That it should also plant a flag in the landmass of politics and claim it in the name of homo economicus is entirely in character. And as was the case with imperialists of late 19th Century expansion, it announces itself thereby to be doing good for both, colonizer and colonized. Political philosophy, it would seem, has less reason to welcome public choice. From Plato to John Rawls, philosophers have aimed to chart out the configuration of a truly good society, one that operates according to precepts of justice. Political philosophy, then, is a normative discipline, one that attempts to ascertain how people ought to act one with another rather than how they do comport themselves. This can be pursued as a purely theoretical exercise, like reviewing the course of an ancient battle and contemplating what might have happened had the Persians adopted a different strategy at Marathon. Such detached speculation, however, is secondary in the practice of political philosophy. Rather, the discipline is self-consciously practical, purporting to offer guidance concerning the actual practice of political organization and rule. The hope is that if we come to know more about the requisites for successful sociality, then we will be more able to live according to these principles. Of course that knowledge is not itself a sufficient condition for living well. It also helps to enjoy abundant material means and security from external aggressors. Another kind of obstacle that needs to be overcome is moral failings on the part of political actors. Good philosophy does not remedy vicious character. Nor does it have much value for mostly virtuous kings and legislators if they take their advice elsewhere. Nonetheless, and with full acknowledgment of pitfalls along the way, the central goal of traditional political philosophy has been