THE U IVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

Lette Ed tor Weldon Cooper

Vol. XXXV, o. 2 Bureau of Public Administration, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia October 15, 1958

THE THOMAS JEFFERSON CENTER For Studies In PoliticalEconomy

BY JAMES M. BUCHANA

Director) Thomas Jefferson Center) and Chai1man)Department of Economics) University of Virginia

The Thoma Jefferson Center for Stud­ies in Political Economy was organized atthe Uni er it of Virginia in 1957, andit is still in the early stages of its oper­ation. This article will tell readers ofthe News Letter something about thisCenter: the ideas behind its organiza­tion, its general aims and purposes, itsadministration, its operations to date, andits plans for the future. Those of us whoare directly involved in the work of theCenter think that it should, and will, be­come an important part of the over-allprogram of the University. But we rec­ognize that the growth and the develop­ment of the Center will depend uponsupport, not only from those on theGrounds, but also from many others inthe community beyond.

Why was the Center Organized?

The Thoma Jefferson Center strivesto carryon the honorable tradition of"political economy" - the study of whatmakes for a "good society." Politicaleconomists stress the technical economicprinciples that one must understand inorder to assess alternative arrangementsfor promoting peaceful cooperation andproductive specialization among free men.Yet political economists go further andfrankly try to bring out into the open thephilosophical issues that necessarily un­derlie all discus ions of the appropriatefunctions of government and all proposedeconomic policy measures. They exam­ine philosophical values for consistencyamong themselves and with the ideal ofhuman freedom. dam Smith was writingas a political economist when he com­posed The Wealth of Nations) and it is

not surprising that this first great bookin the field appeared in the same yearas the Declaration of Independence.

In the century from 1750 to 1850, po­litical economists were among the in­tellectual leaders guiding those politicalchanges that had the result of removingmany artificial restraints upon individualchoice and initiati e. The release of hu­man energies made possible by such awidening of the range of individualchoice produced something new in his­tory; free society, as we now conceive it,was unknown three hundred years ago.Civilized society in the West was launch­ed on a progressively accelerating im­provement in material standards of well­being previously undreamed of, and,much more importantly, this improve­ment was accomplished by an expansion,not a contraction, of the freedom ofindividual citizens.

We live today, in the Western World,on the heritage of this greatest of all rev­olutions in human history. The earlieror "classical" political economists remainimportant to us because of their influencein laying the foundations for these mod­ern institutions. nd the reading oftheir ,vorks continues to be a necessarypart of one's process of coming to under­stand the world in which we find our­selves.

But with the march of time come greatsocial changes. As these changes have oc­curred over the last century, politicaleconomy and political economists seemto have become increasingly less influen­tial. The increasing specialization ofknowledge and scholarship has forced aseparation between the economics and

the political philosophy involved in par­ticular issues. Economics and PoliticalScience have become two separate aca­demic disciplines. Students now spendtheir entire careers examining tiny areaswithin each of these broader fields. sa result, few social scientists today havethe competence or interest in studyingbroad issues of policy which is requiredfor intellectual leadership. Scholars to­tally absorbed in the minutiae of theirparticular disciplines can contribute toknowledge; yet it is essential that somescholars concern themselves with issuesrequiring broader examination.

A society is guided by its ruling philos­ophy - the prevailing conception of the"good" social order. Some political-eco­nomic philosophy must be the basis forintelligent social policy. Forthright andcontinuing discussion is necessary if thisconception is to serve as a clear and co­herent guide on numerous particular is­sues. Otherwise, statesmen and citizenswill continue to lose their bearings amidthe economic and social complexities ofthe mid-Twentieth Century.

Study of political-econonlic philosophyis the basic content of political economy.Political economists try to stimulate openand lively discussion of how a free societyshould be organized and preserved. Andthey go further. They examine and dis­cuss the whole set of current policy issuein the light of some conception of the"good" society.

The fruits of Western civilization haveperhaps been so bountiful that nations willnot relinquish them voluntarily throughorderly democratic processes. It is nowwidely recognized that the great appeal

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THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

Printed by theUNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA PRESS

EditorWELDON COOPER

Editorial AssociateMARGARET WOODSON

rate a special curriculum in Political Eco­nomy would represent a still further steptoward undesirable specialization. In ac­cordance with these views, the Center of­fers no courses; it grants no degrees. Withits instructional as with its research func­tion, the Thomas Jefferson Center servesas a means of identification, of associaLion,for students and scholars. By creatingan environment in which discussion anddebate on fundamental issues can pro­ceed, by providing intellectual stimula­tion for such discussion, and by encourag­ing individual participation in such dis­cussion, the Center aims at supplementingand enhancing the educational job ac­complished through the acquisition oftechnical competence in. the regular aca­demic disciplines. In this way, the Thomas­Jeff~rson Center ho es.J. accomplish th~

general aims set forth in its initial de­scriptive brochure, which was widely dis­tributed in late 1957:

"The Center is organized to pro­mote scholarly discussion of the basicideals of Western civilization and ofthe solutions to modern social prob­lems most in accord with those ideals.

The Center is a community ofscholars who wish to preserve a socialorder based on individual liberty.The Center will encourage studentsto see the philosophical as well asthe technical issues entering intoproblems of social organization."

What Does the Center Do?

What, specifically, does this ThomasJefferson Center for Studies in PoliticalEconomy do? First of all, and perhapsmost importantly especially during itsformative years, the Center brings to theUniversity community each year a Dis­tinguished Visiting Scholar. This scholaris selected for his interest in politicalecOll.QIll.¥-a.nd cia! hjlo§ophS--t and forhis demonstrated ability and competence.This scholar is widely known and respect­ed. When he is in residence at the Cen­ter, the visiting scholar participatesactively in the intellectual life of thecommunity; he delivers public lectures;he conducts small informal seminars withgraduate students and research associates.

Secondly, the Center sponsors specificindividual lectures or seminar discussionsby invited guests. These lectures anddiscussions fall outside the regular aca­demic program of the University.

Thirdly, the Center grants fellowshipsto graduate students and to post-doctoralcandidates. These fellowships are awa.rdedon the basis of ability and indicated in­terest in political economy, and they may

effort deliberately made to bring abouta rebirth of Political Economy.

The Center and the University

It is particularly appropriate that thisCenter should have been established atthe University of Virginia. Although Mr.J efferson's wide and varied interests andactivities allowed him little time for thestudy of political economy in the specificsense, the ideas imbedded in his politicalwritings parallel those of the "classical"political economists. The importance ofVirginia and Virginians in the framingof the constitutional and legal structureof the United States is well known, butperhaps the importance of this structureitself in shaping the whole of the societythat we enjoy is too often overlooked.

The University of Virgini;! appears aproper setting for a Center devoted to re­examination of the whole political-eco­nomic structure, to a more broadly basedapproach to particular social issues, andto a hard-headed confrontation of moderninstitutional changes with underlyingindividual values.

What Is The Center?

Research is, of course, central to theprogram of the Thomas Jefferson Center.But it is not conceived primarily as aresearch organization in the more com­monly accepted usage of these terms.Positive attempts to "buy research" inany specific area of interest seem ques­tionable on several grounds. The ThomasJefferson Center is conceived rather asa community of scholars who share acommon interest in social philosophy.The Center serves as a means of identi­fication, of association, for those scholars.It tries to provide them with an environ­ment within which they will be individu­ally motivated to undertake research. But.5uch_ research must come frOlU the .nd.i=.vidual interests of the cooperating as­sociates; the Center does not, in any way,suggest or promote specific studies. Thosestudies which do come out of the Center- and we hope there will be many andimportant ones - are produced as a re­sult of individual scholarly effort.

Education is, of course, central to theCenter's total program. But again theCenter is not primarily conceived as ser­ving directly an instructional task. Politi­cal Economy, as a discipline, containsfew formal aspects that are not to befound in the institutionally organizeddisciplines of the social sciences. Thetechnical competence of students andscholars must be gained by a study ofthose disciplines. The attempt to inaugu-

LetterNEWS

Assistant EditorsCHESTER W. BAIN

FRANK K. GIBSON

Published semi-monthlYJ from Octoberthrough June by the Bureau of PublicAdministration, University of Virginia,Charlottesville, Virginia. The views andopinions expressed herein are those of the

·~l?,-alld ar-e fie -B -iatelpI'et d asrepresenting the official position of theBureau or the University.

Entered as second class matter January2, 1925, at the post office at Charlottesville,Virginia, under the act of August 24, 1912.

of Communism is largely limited to thoseareas of the world which have neverreally enjoyed the free society. But thisreversal of Marxian predictions shouldnot lull citizens of Western civilizationinto thinking that free social institutions,including the free economy, are more orless automatically guaranteed to us. Thereis, on the contrary, an ever present dan­ger that these institutions, which are vitalto the preservation of individual liberty,may be undermined and eroded throughan overly-close attention to current minorirritations in the social fabric, accom­panied by heedless neglect of larger is­sues of more lasting importance. Twen­tieth century American democracy canwell commit the irrevocable sin of "socialcarelessness," of allowing its institutionsto be modified out of all recognition, ofallowing them to be divorced bit by bitfrom their original intent and purposein the social structure. Individual libertyor freedom remains the fundamental or­ganizing principle of the free society, andthe temporary pursuit of will-of-the-wispcurrent objectives at the expense of indi­vidual freedoms must be examined muchmore carefully and thoroughly than schol­ars and policy makers now seem willingto attempt.

Out of ideas such as these, the ThomasJefferson Center for Studies in PoliticalEconomy was born. The Center repre­sents the institutional embodiment of an

be awarded to students in any of thesocial sciences. Graduate students whoreceive these followships must, of course,secure admission to the Graduate Schoolof rts and Sciences and pursue coursesof study approved by the regular aca­demic departments. Applications for thesegraduate fellowships are invited from allstudents in the social sciences interestedin political economy as an integral part oftheir over-all graduate program. Post­doctoral fellowships are awarded to youngscholars who have demonstrated researchcompetence. Through the post-doctoralfellowships the Center hopes to encourageyoung scholars to undertake researchalong the lines of its indicated interest.

Finally, the Center acts as a clearinghouse through which independent re-

arch proj by permanent membersof the University faculty are administered.Staff members become Research Associ­ates of the Center while the projects arebeing carried out.

Participation in the Center's Program

It has been stated above that theThomas Jefferson Center is a communityof scholars. It is a voluntary community,and from this it follows that participationin its activities is open, informal, andflexible. The Center is dedicated to theidea that mutual advantages are to begained from serious scholarly discussionof vital issues of social philosophy. Thisdiscussion may take the form of publiclectures, seminars, forums, or writteninterchange of ideas; the forms them­selves are flexible. Interested scholars atall levels, both from within the Universityand beyond, are urged to visit the Cen­ter, to attend the announced lectures,and to participate even more actively inthe smaller seminar and group activities.Indeed one of the fundamental aims ofthe Center i that of widening the com­munity of discourse, and it will not haveserved its purpose if, over the long run,participation is not extended.

How is the Center Administered?

The Thomas Jefferson Center is ad­ministered by a Director, an AssociateDirector, and an Executive Secretary.This staff acts with the advice and counselof an Advisory Committee.

James M. Buchanan, who is also chair­man of the Department of Economics, iscurrently serving as Director. G. Warren

utter, who holds a professorship in theDepartment of Economics, is AssociateDirector. Assistant Professor Leland B.Yeager is serving as Executive Secretary.The Center has independent offices and

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a separate clerical staff in Rouss Hall onthe Lawn.

The Advisory Committee currently iscomposed of the following members; thefirst three are ex officio:

Colgate W. Darden, Jr.President of the University

William L. Duren, Jr.Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

Lewis M. HammondDean, Graduate School of Arts and

Sciences

Charles C. AbbottDean, Graduate School of Business

Administration

Hardy C. DillardProfessor of Law

Rowland EggerChairman, Departments of Foreign

Affairs and Political Science

How is the Center Supported?

Although independently organized, theCenter's whole program is complementedand supported by the regular academicprogram of the University. The staff mem­bers and the research associates of theCenter hold permanent academic ap­pointments in the regularly constituteddepartments.

Financial support for the Center hasbeen provided by grants from founda­tions that have expressed by their actionconfidence in the program contemplatedby the Center. This support finances thevisiting scholar, the special lectures andseminars, fellowship awards, and providesfor certain of the clerical and operatingexpenses resulting from the operation ofthe Center as a separate entity. Founda­tion support has also been secured fromindependent research projects administer­ed through the Center.

Operation in 1957-1958

The work of the Thomas JeffersonCenter was seriously begun during theacademic year 1957-1958. The first publiclecture under the sponsorship of the Cen­ter was delivered on September 20, 1957by Peter T. Bauer, Fellow of Gonvilleand Cauis College, and Smuts Reader inCommonwealth Studies at CambridgeUniversity. Mr. Bauer, who is the authorof several books on economic problemsof underdeveloped countries, spoke on"The Political Economy of CompulsoryDevelopment." During the remainingmonths of the fall term, the Center spon­sored small seminar discussions by Pro­fessor Proctor Thomson of ClaremontMen's College, Dr. R. N. McKean of the

RAND Corporation, and Professor CarlUhr of the University of California.

The inaugural visiting scholar at theCenter was Frank H. Knight, Morton D.Hull Distinguished Service ProfessorEmeritus of Social Sciences and Philos.­ophy at the University of Chicago. Pro­fessor Knight is a world-renowned scholar,and he is recognized for his contributionsboth in economics and in social philos­ophy. He is the author of a classic workin economic theory, Risk) Uncertaintyand Profit) along with numerous otherworks. In December 1957, ProfessorKnight was awarded the Francis WalkerMedal by the American Economic As­sociation. This medal, given only onceeach five years, is awarded for outstand­ing contributions to economic science.

During his period of residence at theUniversity, Professor Knight delivered aseries of six public lectures on the topic,"Intelligence and Democratic Action."These lectures were well attended andthey generated much discussion in thewhole Univ rsity community. In additionto this series of lectures, Professor Kn.ightconducted a seminar for graduate stu­dents. The discussion theme of theseseminars was the role of science in sol­ving social problems.

Special lectures during the spring termof 1958 which were sponsored by theCenter included those by ProfessorCharles E. Lindblom of Yale Universityon "Adam Smith and Our Political Sys­tem," and by Professor Ronald H. Coaseof the University of Buffalo on "TheFederal Communications Commission andthe American Broadcasting System." Aspecial visitor and lecturer who provokedmuch interest was Professor Josef Pajest­ka, member of the faculty of the Univer­sity of Warsaw and of the staff of thePolish Economic Council. He discussed,both in a public lecture and in a seminar,the problems of planning faced in social­ist economic systems.

In addition to these special lectures,the Center joined with the WoodrowWilson Department of Foreign Affairsand the School of Law in sponsoring anaddress by M. Robert Schuman, formerPremier of France and a leader in theorganization of the European Coal andSteel Community. M. Schuman spoke on"Problems of Western European Eco­nomic Integration."

Prospects for 1958-1959

The Center became fully operative withthe beginning of the 1958-1959 academicyear in September 1958. Eight graduate

fellows and one post-doctoral fellow aredirectly associated with the Center.

Dr. Overton H. Taylor of HarvardUniversity will serve as Visiting Scholarfor the first half of the 1958-1959 aca­demic term. He will give a series of fourlectures in the fall of 1958 on the generaltheme of Economic Theory and PoliticalPhilosophy.

Dr. Gordon Tullock, who has beentrained in both economics and law, hasbeen awarded the first post-doctoral fel­lowship to be granted through the aus­pices of the Center. He will be in resi­dence during the 1958-1959 academicterm, and he will be at work completinghis book on bureaucracy, which has beententatively entitled "Inside Bureaucracy."

Plans for Future Years

The Thomas Jefferson Center for Stud-

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ies in Political Economy is now a goingconcern. The program over an initialformative period has been deliberatelylimited, but as the Center becomes a morepermanent feature of the University com­munity and of the intellectual communitymore broadly conceived, plans for se­lected, although still limited, expansionhave been made. Some initial thoughthas been given to a series of publicationsunder the sponsorship of the Center, re­sulting either from the lectures deliveredat the Center or from research projectsadministered through the Center. Thepossibility of summer seminars bring­ing together young scholars in the socialsciences has been discussed. Other ideasfor development are certain to presentthemselves as the Center itself continuesoperation. We at the Center will welcomesuggestions and en ourage ent from

members of the University and from thecommunity beyond.

We hope that the operation of theCenter can be sufficiently flexible to' al­low for adaptation and change to meetnew conditions and to respond to newchallenges, but the general aims. of theCenter will endure, however. The effectsof the Thomas Jefferson Center on theintellectual attitudes of the Universitycommunity and upon the more generalfield of schol~rship in the social scienceswill be gradual, and they will be difficultto appraise. But, for those of us whohave been instrumental in getting theCenter underway, there is an underlyingconfidence that the Center will have animpact, that the course of scholarship willbe modified by the Center's program,~ven if in a small and, at the present,wholly unpredictable way.

Note: Those who wish to receive the News Letter on a regular basis may do so by sending in a request. It is suggested that thpcomplete address be given} and that} in many instances} the residential address is to be preferred over a business address. Institu­tions} in addition to individuals} may also receive the News Letter if an officer of the institution will so indicate.

- The Editors

THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

NEWS LetterEntered as

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Bureau of Public Administration

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