James Buchanan

The voluntary exchange perspective inherent in market organization tends to generate outcomes that advance the individual without requiring sacrifice of others.

Politics, as a practice, whatever its professions, has always been the time-honored skill and incumbency protection racket.

The state must be so constituted that its actions are predictable and its powers limited.

Public choice theory teaches us that politicians and bureaucrats are self-interested maximizers, just like everyone else.

The worship of the state is the worship of force. There is no more dangerous menace to civilization than a government of incompetent, corrupt, or vile men.

In the absence of constitutional constraints, democracy can lead to fiscal irresponsibility.

The individual remains the basic unit of social analysis.

Rent seeking is the pursuit of wealth by the manipulation of the state.

Constitutions are designed to protect the rights of minorities against the tyranny of the majority.

The market economy is a mechanism for social cooperation without coercion.

Bureaucracy expands to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.

The paradox of voting suggests that rational individuals may not vote if their vote is unlikely to matter.

Freedom is not just another word for nothing left to lose; it's the foundation of prosperity.

The fiscal illusion allows governments to spend more than they should by hiding the true costs.

In economics, as in life, incentives matter more than intentions.

The constitution should be a contract among free men, not a grant from the state.

Logrolling in legislatures is the political equivalent of barter.

The true test of a theory is its ability to predict behavior under uncertainty.

Governments promise efficiency, but deliver only excuses.

Individual liberty is the ultimate value, from which all others derive.