Should we all work harder? A critical assessment of James Buchanan's writings on the work ethic and economic progress

Economics began as an offshoot of moral philosophy. However, in the two centuries since Adam Smith, economists have increasingly downplayed ethical issues, to the point where many now think of their discipline as a purely positive, value-neutral science. Yet there continue to be those within the profession who incorporate explicitly ethical themes in their work. One of these dissenters is James Buchanan, a Nobel Prize winner best known for his pioneering work in public choice analysis. This dissertation offers a critical analysis of Buchanan's ideas on the link between ethical norms and economic theory, and specifically of his methodological-individualist rationale for one particular ethical norm: the work ethic. As of this writing, there is little secondary literature on this topic. This dissertation therefore represents an initial contribution to any future dialogue on the merits of Buchanan's model, from the specific perspective of economic theory and the history of economic thought. It will be argued here that Buchanan's foray into this domain is a thought-provoking effort to extend economic reasoning in a new direction, but that his specific arguments concerning the work ethic have some serious flaws and omissions at this point in their development. These specific problems include the following: (1) Buchanan fails to account for important negative externalities associated with an increase in work effort, which may partly or wholly offset the positive externality upon which his argument is built; (2) Buchanan fails to explain how we can make sense of the concept of subjective Pareto improvement when the systemic change in question---the introduction of an ethical norm---alters individuals' preferences in the post-norm context; (3) Buchanan fails to address the possibility that the economic benefits of a work ethic might entail consequences that fundamentally conflict with other ends that individuals may value. In addition, a number of other concerns raised by Buchanan's analysis are briefly sketched. Despite the flaws of this model, it is suggested in conclusion that Buchanan's approach to the analysis of ethical norms is a creative application of economic logic, which deserves more attention from economic theorists than it has hitherto received.