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Description
The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy is a groundbreaking work in democratic theory. This chapter argues that it is of continued relevance today, due both to its methodological innovations and its use of those innovative techniques to solve the fundamental problem of democratic justification. In Calculus, James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock fuse economic methods, political theory, and the normative project of showing how democratic institutions of a particular sort can be justified contractually, creating a unique form of democratic contractualism that came to be known as “Constitutional Political Economy” and the more general research program of “Public Choice Theory.” Although these pioneering techniques have been integrated into mainstream political theory, the interest of their normative project has not been similarly appreciated.
ISBN
9780198717133
Publication Date
12-2015
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Keywords
James Buchanan, Gordon Tullock, contractualism, democratic theory, constitutional political economy, public choice theory
Disciplines
American Politics | Ethics and Political Philosophy | Other Political Science | Political Theory
Recommended Citation
Thrasher, John, and Gerald Gaus. “On The Calculus of Consent.” The Oxford Handbook of Classics in Contemporary Political Theory. Edited by Jacob Levy. Oxford University Press, 2017. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198717133.013.25
Copyright
Oxford University Press
Included in
American Politics Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Other Political Science Commons, Political Theory Commons
Comments
In Jacob Levy (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Classics in Contemporary Political Theory.