Economics Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Individuals: In philosophy, individuals are entities that are distinct from other entities. They are typically characterized by their own unique properties and experiences. Individuals can be physical objects, such as humans, animals, and plants, or they can be non-physical objects, such as minds, souls, and thoughts. See also Particulars, Individuation. _____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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James M. Buchanan on Individuals - Dictionary of Arguments
Boudreaux I 6 Individuals/action/economy/Buchanan/Boudreaux/Holcombe: Buchanan thesis(1): Be cause neither the state nor society is a singular and sentient creature, a great deal of analytical and policy confusion is spawned by treating them as such. Collections of individuals cannot be fused or aggregated together into a super-individual about whom economists and political philosophers can usefully theorize in the same ways that they theorize about actual flesh-and-blood individuals. >Individualism, >Sociology, >Political science. Groups/Buchanan: Two or more people might share a common interest and they might - indeed, often do -join forces to pursue that common interest. But two or more people are never akin to a single sentient individual. Preferences/Buchanan: A collection of individuals, as such, has no preferences of the sort that are had by an actual individual. A collection of individuals, as such, experiences no gains or pains; it reaps no benefits and incurs no costs. A collection of individuals, as such, makes no choices. Instead, Buchanan contended, only individuals possess preferences. Gains and losses/Buchanan: Only individuals experience gains and losses. Only individuals act and, hence, only individuals make choices. Methodological individualism: Professional economists might shrug and say that Buchanan was merely avowing the importance of the scientific stance of "methodological individualism" - that is, the insistence that a proper understanding of all social phenomena requires that these phenomena be traced back to, or "reduced to," the choices of individuals whose actions give rise to the phenomena. >Methodological individualism, >Group behavior/Buchanan. 1. Buchanan, James M. (1949). “The Pure Theory of Government Finance” in: Journal of Political Economy._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
EconBuchan I James M. Buchanan Politics as Public Choice Carmel, IN 2000 Boudreaux I Donald J. Boudreaux Randall G. Holcombe The Essential James Buchanan Vancouver: The Fraser Institute 2021 Boudreaux II Donald J. Boudreaux The Essential Hayek Vancouver: Fraser Institute 2014 |
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