Caton on Pluralism and Public Reason: An Entangled Analysis of Early Modern England @NDSU

James Caton, North Dakota State University, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics; American Institute for Economic Research; North Dakota State University, NDSU Center for the Study of Public Choice and Private Enterprise Department of AgriCommunity, is publishing Pluralism, and Public Reason: An Entangled Analysis of Early Modern England in Realism, Ideology, and the Convulsions of Democracy. Here is the abstract.

James Buchanan recognized that governing arrangements were certified by a constitutional moment. He also recognized that there existed a continual bargaining over these arrangements. There exists not a single constitutional moment, but an endless series of constitutional moments by which the social contract evolves. This work outlines a framework for interpreting the formation and transformation of the social contract and uses this framework to identify changes in the social fabric that enabled the development of pluralism in pre- and post-Reformation England. Proper framing of this transformation requires consideration of interaction between ideas and institutions across political, economic, legal, and religious spheres. Ideological diversity had enabled the English Reformation, an institutional shift that ultimately diminished the efficacy of cooperation between church and state. The development of a particularly liberal, English worldview reflecting growing autonomy for individuals and communities is evidenced by the growing use of language related to concepts of virtue, commerce, and liberty.

Download the essay from SSRN at the link.