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… is from page 101 of my late Nobel-laureate colleague James M. Buchanan [2]’s 2005 book, Why I, Too, Am Not a Conservative: The Normative Vision of Classical Liberalism [3]:
Persons, whether they be scientists, moral philosophers or ordinary folk, can be roughly classified into two sets – those who are described as having a liberal predisposition and those who do not. And by a “liberal predisposition” I refer, specifically, to an attitude in which others are viewed as moral equals and thereby deserving of equal respect, consideration and, ultimately, equal treatment.
DBx: All ideologies other than that of (classical) liberalism have at their cores the notion that some individuals – either by birth, by battle, by anointment, or by appointment – are entitled to command other individuals. Of course, all adherents to these other ideologies have no doubt that such commands are necessary for the greater good. Only true liberals seriously question the necessity of such commands, and fear such commands even on those rare occasions when liberals concede that commands might be worthwhile.
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Jim Buchanan (1919-2013) was born, in Tennessee, on this date 102 years ago.