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Buchanan, Popular Myths, and the Social Responsibility of Economists

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  • Alain Marciano

    (MRE - Montpellier Recherche en Economie - UM - Université de Montpellier, MRE - Montpellier Recherche en Economie - UM - Université de Montpellier)

Abstract

This article presents and discusses “The ‘Politics’ of Economic Policy,” an essay that remains unpublished and that James Buchanan wrote in 1953. In this essay, Buchanan, for the first time, claimed that politicians and bureaucrats are not benevolent despots—it was not an assumption. This helps to understand that Buchanan had abandoned the “romantic” belief that politicians were acting for the interest of the public early in his career, much earlier than usually acknowledged and even earlier than his first works in “nonmarket decision‐making.” Beyond this historical insight, we show that Buchanan wrote his article in response or echo to Knight's “The Rôle of Principles in Economics and Politics” (1951). Comparing Buchanan's and Knight's texts, we show that Buchanan adopted a Knightian perspective while criticizing Knight and departing from his views. Of particular importance is what Buchanan wrote on how economists should frame their policy recommendations and on how they may need to avoid very sophisticated theories.
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Suggested Citation

  • Alain Marciano, 2020. "Buchanan, Popular Myths, and the Social Responsibility of Economists," Post-Print hal-02550358, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02550358
    DOI: 10.1002/soej.12429
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    Cited by:

    1. Amr Saleh & Nader Alber, 2021. "Disguised Terrorism Versus Political and Economic Failures- Which Diagnosis Do We Need to Recognize? 205 Countries in Two Decades of Analysis," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(2), pages 1-35, February.

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