Question

What political causes has Buchanan focused on? How might that influence his evaluation of a free trade agreement like NAFTA?

Answer 1

Buchanan's primary political focus has been his opposition to free trade agreements like NAFTA, which he believes hurt American workers by enabling corporations to move jobs to countries with cheaper labor.

Step-by-step explanation:

The political causes that Buchanan has focused on include opposition to free trade agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he would likely evaluate critically.

Buchanan's skepticism towards NAFTA stems from his emphasis on the need to protect American jobs and industries from competition with countries where labor is cheaper. This perspective has influenced his belief that free trade agreements can lead to job losses and harm domestic workers.

Buchanan's concern with protecting American workers might be rooted in broader opposition to globalization, which can be linked to his general critique of international trade and the belief that it favors corporations over people.

Moreover, Buchanan's stance on free trade often aligns with populist sentiments shared by segments on both the left and the right political spectrum, reflecting a skepticism towards policies perceived as benefiting multinational corporations at the expense of the national workforce.

Answer 2

James M. Buchanan, an American Economist of libertarian thinking, has focused on the theory of Public Choice.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this theory, Buchanan argues that policy making is affected by the self-interest, amd desire for utiliy maximization, of the bureaucrats.

Like this, he argues, bureaucrats are not government officials who are only interested in the well-being of society as a whole, but on the contrary, people who have vested interests like anyone else, and who modify the public policies according to those vested interests.

Buchanan would evaluate the NAFTA in negative terms because he would argue, like most libertarians, that while such agreement is an advancement towards free trade among nations, it is still full of flaws that come from the fact that it was drafted by bureaucrats that had vested interests during the drafting process.