Constitutional Interpretation: Burke and Buchanan and their 18th Century Intellectual Roots

Author: Considine, John

Source: Constitutional Political Economy, Volume 17, Number 2, June 2006 , pp. 71-85(15)

Publisher: Springer

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $47.00 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

There is a respectable tradition of Burkean constitutional interpretation in legal scholarship whereas Edmund Burke is a relatively neglected figure in constitutional political economy. A comparison of the constitutional interpretations of constitutional political economy and Burkean legal scholarship provides a potentially fruitful outcome for both. This is particularly so given the 18th century intellectual roots of each. An examination of the Burkean tradition demonstrates why it is methodologically inductive, evolutionary and pessimistic, compared to the deductive, individualistic and optimistic approach of the Smithian tradition of constitutional political economy. Interestingly, these sharp distinctions in method produce similar results.

Keywords: Constitutional interpretation; Edmund Burke; James Buchanan; A12; B4; B52

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10602-006-0004-8

Affiliations: 1: Email: j.considine@ucc.ie

Publication date: 2006-06-01