Buchanan’s Theory of Emancipation: Artifactual Man in Perspective

This chapter explains the theory of emancipation in James M. Buchanan’s work. Buchanan did not explicitly develop such a theory, but he nevertheless provided elements that help to identify the differences between an alienated and an emancipated man. The former appears incapable of escaping the constraints of given preferences and a given set of alternatives of their biological and cultural inheritance; she is not capable of creativity or imagination. Emancipation means making genuine choices; such choices are creative and imaginative in that they allow the individual to become the person she wants to become. Emancipation, for Buchanan, also means ethical and responsible choices. Emancipation implies a specific institutional framework, made of small and inclusive groups in which individuals can be who and what they want to be.

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