A Summary Of “What Should Economists Do?” By James M. Buchanan (Essay Sample)

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A Summary Of “What Should Economists Do?” By James M. Buchanan
James M. Buchanan proposes to evaluate the "traveling off the minds of men who mainly sit in the seat of Adam Smith," particularly those men who endeavor to remain within the "strict domain of science," and subsequently ask the following questions: What are economists doing? What should they be particularly doing? Notably, by proposing to critically examine what economists should be doing, James appears to be rejecting a well-known proposition that has been advanced ably by Jacob Viner that, economics is all about what economists are doing. According to James, this is the kind of proposition that Frank Knight sought to convert into a complete circle when he added that economists are ordinarily those who dedicate their time to doing economics (Buchanan 215). James holds the view that economists should be prepared to face up to their basic responsibilities. He adds that economists should at the very least, endeavor to know their subject matter.