The Calculus of Consent

The Calculus of Consent- Summary

This is a classic book, is the establishment of public choice theory first attempt.

In the book, the book's author James McGill Buchanan Jr. is a public choice theory, the constitutional principles of economics and political science and founder of the most famous representatives, also a Nobel laureate in economics. In its academic career, Buchanan has been filled with distrust the government, the government has a deep understanding of the risk and made a unique preventive measures.

According to the hypothesis, the collective action is composed of individual action, therefore, the first step is the construction work, put forward some assumption on individuals in the private or individual activities in social activities in the motivation and behaviour.

So the theory of action from those in groups or individuals to decision making. Since the model of the behaviour of the individual as its core features to be reflected, so the theory is classified to the methodological individualism theory may is the best.

In this methodology, the individual is considered to be personal and collective actions determine the ultimate only choice .

Only a talent to make choices and actions, the collective itself does not choose not to choose collective action, as the analysis is not consistent with the principles of science, collective choice should be considered a person through the collective rather than by individual, to achieve their maximum objective personal action selection.

Because each person's preferences, abilities and different conditions, personal understanding, there is a difference between the cost income. Has the subjective nature of individual choice, others can not predict.

And cause the person is ultimately bear the collective decision-making, only people with the qualification evaluation.

There are three ways to make policies: Private individual decisions, private group decisions, and public group decisions. Private groups need unanimous agreement; public groups do not. The most-efficient decision mechanism recognises two costs: The cost to the individual of the mechanism.

There is a spot in the aggregate of these costs, where the cost to the individual and the cost of making a decision are minimised. You want to design a constitution to hit that spot.

These are the book in the sense of enlightenment. For example, we can think about this question: how to understand the political process under majority rule? Our traditional moral basis to adapt to market economy? The market itself can not provide this kind of moral education? etc.

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