James M. Buchanan and Me: Reminiscing About a 50-Year Association

Abstract

This essay commemorates James M. Buchanan’s life and work by reflecting on my 50 years of association with him, starting in 1963 when I entered graduate school at the University of Virginia and ending with his death in 2013. This essay does not try to add to the substantial secondary literature that has arisen about Buchanan and his scholarly contributions. Objective contributions in that vein will doubtlessly continue; indeed, I have written some myself. Instead, this essay portrays Jim Buchanan through offering a personal reflection on some of my experiences with him over our half-century’s association. Jim Buchanan was a pivotal figure in my life, as in many ways I have tried to carry forward what I acquired from him through observation and interaction. I even thought I was carrying forward that acquisition when divergences arose between us, as they did increasingly as the years passed.

Keywords: James M. Buchanan; Italianate public finance; teaching as joint inquiry; constitutional political economy; non-logical action; Vilfredo Pareto; Carl Schmitt

JEL Classification: A11, A23, B31, D70, H63