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The Political Economy of Buchanan's Samaritan's Dilemma

In: Power and Responsibility

Author

Listed:
  • Alain Marciano

    (University of Montpellier and MRE
    Université de Montpellier)

Abstract

Written by James Buchanan in the early 1970s, “The Samaritan's Dilemma” is a pessimistic essay, marked by his author's negative views about the situation in Western societies at that time. Yet, the situation described in this essay also fits into Buchanan’s approach to cooperation and free riding. Put differently, it is perfectly with Buchanan’s views on public economics. This is what we aim at showing in this short article. Our demonstration develops in two parts. First, we show that Buchanan's main argument about cooperation in the provision of public goods or removal of externalities necessarily leads to situations such as the one described in the Samaritan's dilemma. Second, we show that Buchanan did not take the situation seriously until the end of the 1960s, a few years before he wrote his essay on the dilemma.

Suggested Citation

  • Alain Marciano, 2023. "The Political Economy of Buchanan's Samaritan's Dilemma," Springer Books, in: Martin A. Leroch & Florian Rupp (ed.), Power and Responsibility, pages 345-357, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-23015-8_19
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-23015-8_19
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    2. Alain Marciano, 2025. "Sado-masochism in Buchanan’s Samaritan’s Dilemma: A Constitutional Perspective," Homo Oeconomicus: Journal of Behavioral and Institutional Economics, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 1-14, November.

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