Download This PaperConstitutionalism, Liberalism, and Political Entrepreneurship
Advances in Austrian Economics, Forthcoming
28 Pages Posted: 23 Apr 2019 Last revised: 13 Apr 2020
Date Written: April 11, 2020
Abstract
I criticize contractarian approaches to political economy that assume the insularity of constitutions from ordinary political exchange. Using tools from market process economics, I outline a theory of the political-entrepreneurial process as applied to constitutions. This theory can help us understand many aspects of real-world constitutional politics, such as the frequent divergence of de facto constitutions from their de jure specification. I also discuss how my proposed framework can help advance classically liberal political economy, with special reference to the conditions that allow societies to develop and retain liberal constitutions.
Keywords: Contractarianism, Constitution, Entrepreneurship, James Buchanan, Market Process Economics, Political Entrepreneurship
JEL Classification: B53, H11, K10, P16
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