On page xxxii of Democracy in Chains, Nancy MacLean writes the following.
Actually, what I find the most telling about this statement is that James Buchanan did not say this, or at least not in the article MacLean cites as the source. Endote 36 cites Buchanan’s essay “Saving the Soul of Classical Liberalism” as the source, but these phrases do not appear. (The endnote also cites a book by Matt Kibbie, Don’t Hurt People and Don’t Take Their Stuff, so I checked it. The quote does not appear in this book either.)
The closest related idea to the “quoted” statement is:
A motivating element in the liberal philosophy is, of course, the individual’s desire for liberty from the coercive power of others. But a second element in the liberal soul and spirit is critically important. It is the absence of desire to exert power over others.
I’m…
View original post 99 more words
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments