Buchanan as a Classical Liberal

In: The independent review: journal of political economy, Volume 18, Issue 3, p. 391-400

Abstract

James M. Buchanan was a contractarian. The author is not. But he shares Buchanan's classical-liberal ideals. In his account of what he regards as Buchanan's classical-liberal views, he starts with a reconstruction of the somewhat unconventional but very far-sighted way in which Buchanan intuitively made the conceptual distinction between what he calls 'philosophical' liberalism and 'political' (or institutional) liberalism. It seems that Buchanan in his more unguarded moments intended to subscribe to both philosophical and political liberalism. Accepting that philosophical liberalism is impossible, however, he thinks that Buchanan should be seen as a 'communitarian liberal philosopher.' His philosophical use of the unanimity principle rather naturally led him to this position and the political liberalism implied by it. As an ordo- rather than an anarcholiberal, Buchanan understood that in a world without a state, all life would become 'politicized.'. Adapted from the source document.