Buchanan, public debt, and the nature of the state

In the 1950s, Buchanan proposed an approach to public debt rooted in individual calculus that challenged the prevailing Keynesian orthodoxy. In addition to the Italian tradition, Buchanan drew in important ways on the intellectual heritage of Knight, Simons, and Wicksell to advance an alternative narrative of public debt that considered both the decision-making process and the long-run implications of sustained public debt. By orientating his approach in an individualist rather than organic conception of the state, Buchanan not only provided a logical structure by which to evaluate debt decisions but also established an ethical argument against cross-generational debt based on the idea of voluntary consent.