The Joyful Contrarianism of Gordon Tullock
Reason magazine|October 2019

Meet the Economist who understood Nascar Crashes, the Sale of Indulgences, and the Feeding Habits of Coal Tits.

- Michael Munger
The Joyful Contrarianism of Gordon Tullock

What kind of crank wants to put bayonets in steering wheels, praises political corruption as “working out rather well,” and thinks that competition can be harmful and should be discouraged? Gordon Tullock, the late George Mason University professor of law and economics, made all those arguments with a (more or less) straight face, while also helping invent the then-new discipline of sociobiology. His insights have proven to be more durable, and more sensible, than his many critics expected.

To be fair, economists tend to value counterintuitive arguments, where surprising conclusions emerge from innocuous assumptions. In 2019, we will pass the 70th anniversary of the Communist takeover of China, an event that Tullock witnessed in person from the vantage point of his diplomatic post in Tientsin. That experience launched his thinking about the problem of governance, anarchy, and the importance of rules. Looking back, many of the insights that powered his work from that time—once dismissed not just as counterintuitive but as outlandish—have now become conventional wisdom.

There are lots of contributions worth examining, including his work on voting, bureaucracy, and constitutional theory. But those fit reasonably well into the “public choice” tradition, which Tullock helped found, and are easily accessible to those interested in that approach. I will consider three of Tullock’s less well-known, but probably even more important, insights— regarding safety regulation, corruption, and the rationality of evolved behaviors—and see how this work has stood the test of time. The three are very different, but they are unified by one feature that is the hallmark of the economic approach: In every case, Tullock reached a conclusion but pressed further to ask, “And then what?”

SAFETY REGULATIONS

この蚘事は Reason magazine の October 2019 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は Reason magazine の October 2019 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

REASON MAGAZINEのその他の蚘事すべお衚瀺
THE REAL THREAT IS AN ISOLATED CHINA
Reason magazine

THE REAL THREAT IS AN ISOLATED CHINA

DECOUPLING FROM TRADE WILL MAKE THE U.S. POORER AND CHINA MORE TOTALITARIAN.

time-read
10+ 分  |
February 2025
Against Our Own Best Souls'
Reason magazine

Against Our Own Best Souls'

SISTER HELEN PREJEAN ON HERLIFE ASA WITNESS ON DEATH ROW

time-read
10+ 分  |
February 2025
'THE POLITICS HAVE COME TO US'
Reason magazine

'THE POLITICS HAVE COME TO US'

HOW A CHRISTIAN CHARITY IN EL PASO ENDED UP AT WAR WITH THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT FOR HELPING UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS

time-read
10+ 分  |
February 2025
MATERIEL LOSS
Reason magazine

MATERIEL LOSS

HOW THE U.S. MILITARY BUSTS ITS BUDGET ON WASTEFUL, CARELESS, AND UNNECESSARY 'SELF-LICKING ICE CREAM CONES'

time-read
10+ 分  |
February 2025
'NOT A SUICIDE PACT'
Reason magazine

'NOT A SUICIDE PACT'

HOW A 1949 SUPREME COURT DISSENT GAVE BIRTH TO A MEME THAT SUBVERTS FREE SPEECH AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

time-read
10+ 分  |
February 2025
HOW MUSK CAN HELP TRUMP CUT TRILLIONS
Reason magazine

HOW MUSK CAN HELP TRUMP CUT TRILLIONS

DURING PRESIDENT DONALD Trump’s first term in office, the national debt increased by $8 trillion—due, in large part, to huge spending hikes that Congress passed and Trump signed.

time-read
5 分  |
February 2025
THE IMPROBABLE RISE OF MAGA-MUSK
Reason magazine

THE IMPROBABLE RISE OF MAGA-MUSK

IS ELON MUSK A REACTIONARY WITHA DEFECTIVE BULLSHIT METER OR THE BEST PART OF THE SECOND TRUMP ADMINISTRATION?

time-read
10+ 分  |
February 2025
A Free-Range Family
Reason magazine

A Free-Range Family

RIGHT NOW, CHILDHOOD is intensely meh. Maybe you read the recent report in The Journal of Pediatrics that said that as kids' independence and free play have gone down, their anxiety and depression have been going up.

time-read
3 分  |
February 2025
Educulture Wars
Reason magazine

Educulture Wars

THE CULTURE WAR is costing school districts billions, according to a report released in October 2024 by the UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access. The report surveyed superintendents at 467 school districts nationwide about extra expenditures they undertook because of increased conflict over culture war issues such as critical race theory, book chal- lenges, gender-related debates, and other politicized topics. The report estimates that such fights cost school districts around $3.2 billion during the 2023-2024 school year.

time-read
1 min  |
February 2025
Q&A Penny Lane
Reason magazine

Q&A Penny Lane

PENNY LANE'S NEW Netflix documentary, Confessions of a Good Samaritan, delves into her life-changing decision to donate a kidney to a stranger. Known for her thoughtful and provocative storytelling, Lane has explored human connection and empathy in films such as Hail Satan? and The Pain of Others. Last October she spoke with Reason's Nick Gillespie and shared her emotional, physical, and philosophical experience with anonymous kidney donation and the challenges that came with it.

time-read
2 分  |
February 2025