The Economic Theory of Politics: A Re‐appraisal

TLDR: A feature of twentieth century development has been the decline in the proportion of resources whose use is determined by the market mechanism and a corresponding increase in the significance of central planning as discussed by the authors.

Abstract: A feature of twentieth century development has been the decline in the proportion of resources whose use is determined by the market mechanism and a corresponding increase in the significance of central planning. The decline of the market constitutes a paradigm crisis for the majority of non‐Marxist economists, who analyse market allocation intensively yet barely consider the political decision‐making process. An attempt to explain both the level and distribution of government expenditure has been made in the last decade through an “economic theory of politics” which is part of a wider attempt centred on the University of Chicago to unify the social sciences around the concept of individual optimising behaviour, extended from market consumption to such spheres as crime, education, marriage, religion and suicide as well as politics.