Critique of Public Choice

From: AK
Sent: Monday, November 28, 2016 5:17 AM
To: walter block
Subject: Public Choice/Bloomington Schools

Dear Walter, I had the great pleasure of finally meeting you at the last Mises University, after having studied and greatly benefited from your great work over the past five years. I talked to you about the so called “Public Choice” and “Bloomington Schools” and you graciously gave me some important points of criticism. I am attending a seminar on the public choice school (with readings by Buchanan/Tullock) this weekend organized by the Mercatus Center/Liberty Fund, and one on the Bloomington school next year. Do you have or know of any good critical articles or other publications on this school you could point me to? With many thanks and warm regards from Vienna, AK

Dear AK: Yes, here is a book that criticizes Public Choice from an Austro-libertarian point of view. It will soon be published:

DiLorenzo, Thomas J. and Walter E. Block. 2016. An Austro-Libertarian Critique of Public Choice; Addleton Academic Publishers; www.addletonacademicpublishers.com

You might also look at this great critique of Public Choice: Rothbard, Murray. 1997. “Buchanan and Tullock’s ‘The Calculus of Consent,” The Logic of Action II, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, pp. 269-274

By the “Bloomington School” I assume you mean the work of the Ostroms. Here is some critical material on Elinor Ostrom:

Block, Walter E. 2011. Review essay of Ostrom, Elinor. 1990. Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge, UK and New York, NY: Cambridge University Press; in Libertarian Papers, Vol. 3, Art. 21; http://libertarianpapers.org/2011/21-block-review-of-ostroms-governing-the-commons/

Jankovic, Ivan and Walter E. Block. 2016. “Tragedy of the Partnership: A Critique of Elinor Ostrom.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology. Volume 75, Issue 2, pages 289–318; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajes.12141/abstract; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajes.12141/full; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajes.12141/references; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajes.2016.75.issue-2/issuetoc

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