Allen Buchanan | Duke University (original) (raw)

Papers by Allen Buchanan

Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, Nov 1, 2019

In this paper we construct a framework for modeling teams of agents who apply techniques or proce... more In this paper we construct a framework for modeling teams of agents who apply techniques or procedures (tools) to solve problems. In our framework, tools differ in their likelihood of solving the problem at hand; agents, who may be of different types, vary in their skill at using tools. We establish baseline hiring rules when a manager can dictate tool choice and then derive results for strategic tool choice by team members. We highlight three main findings: First, that cognitively diverse teams are more likely to solve problems in both settings. Second, that teams consisting of types that master diverse tools have an indirect strategic advantage because tool diversity facilitates coordination. Third, that strategic tool choice creates counterintuitive optimal hiring practices. For example, optimal teams may exclude the highest ability types and can include dominated types. In addition, optimal groups need not increase set-wise. Our framework extends to cover teamwork on decomposable problems, to cases where individuals apply multiple tools, and to teams facing a flow or set of problems.

Philosophy & public affairs, 1984

Buchanan examines, and finds inadequate, several philosophical approaches to justifying and speci... more Buchanan examines, and finds inadequate, several philosophical approaches to justifying and specifying the content of a universal right to a decent minimum of health care: utilitarian arguments, Rawlsian ideal contract arguments, and Norman Daniels' equality of opportunity argument. Also rejecting the libertarian hypothesis that there is no right to a decent minimum of care, he contends that the claim that society should guarantee certain health care services can be supported by a pluralistic approach encompassing special right-claims, harm prevention, prudential arguments emphasizing public health benefits, and beneficence.

We model the dynamics of endogenous organizational restructuring, where those being assigned posi... more We model the dynamics of endogenous organizational restructuring, where those being assigned positions in an organization can themselves lobby for who gets which position. Internal labor market changes depend on how much individuals value their own status in the organization, the organizational output, their friends' welfare, and the quality of their own departmental colleagues. Meritocratic assignments are reached with probability one when agents value organizational output even with epsilon weight, provided friend networks and departments are not too large. We also characterize the effects of various voting rules, agendas, and specializations on the paths and the stability of organizational structures.

Choice Reviews Online, 2012

Preface Chapter One: Breathless Optimism, Hysterical Loathing Chapter Two: Why Evolution Isn'... more Preface Chapter One: Breathless Optimism, Hysterical Loathing Chapter Two: Why Evolution Isn't Good Enough Chapter Three: Changing Human Nature? Chapter Four: Playing God, Responsibly Chapter Five: Will the Rich Get Biologically Richer? Chapter Six: Is Enhancement Corrupting? Chapter Seven: The Enhancement Enterprise Bibliography

Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 1975

1. There is no dearth of objections to Rawls'sA Theory of justice.Scores of articles and seve... more 1. There is no dearth of objections to Rawls'sA Theory of justice.Scores of articles and several books begin by praising the rigor and depth of Rawls's book — and end by concluding that it is thoroughly mistaken. In the present essay I will not add to the list of negative responses toA Theory of Justice.Instead I will attempt to reply to Rawls's critics in a way which makes a positive contribution to his theory.2. Among the many objections that have been raised against Rawls's theory, two are of paramount importance. It is these two objections I shall attempt to meet. They may be formulated as follows.

Social Philosophy and Policy, 1995

What does the prospect of being able to alter a human being's “natural assets” by genetic eng... more What does the prospect of being able to alter a human being's “natural assets” by genetic engineering imply for our understanding of the requirements of justice, and of equal opportunity in particular? Although their proponents are reluctant to admit it, some of the most prominent contemporary theories of justice yield a quite radical conclusion: If safe and effective intervention in the genetic “natural lottery” becomes feasible, there will be at least a strong prima facie case for doing so in the name of equality of opportunity (or of some other egalitarian principle of justice, such as the principle that persons are entitled to equal concern and respect), if this is the most effective way to meet the demands of justice.

Journal of Philosophy, 1980

Philosophical Studies, 1975

Robert Nozick argues that Rawls's difference principle is liable to a fundamental instability. Ac... more Robert Nozick argues that Rawls's difference principle is liable to a fundamental instability. According to Nozick, an 'end-state' theory of distributive justice is any theory which holds that "the justice of a distribution is determined by how things are distributed (who has what) as judged by some structural principle(s) of distribution," 1 Nozick claims that no end-state principle, including Rawls's difference principle, "can be continuously realized without continuous interference into people's lives" because allowing individuals freedom to transfer goods to one another (through gifts, exchanges, etc.) would lead to departures from the specified end-state. ~ Rawls's difference principle requires that social and economic inequalities be arranged so as to be expected to benefit maximally the worst off group, a Any transfer of goods which could be expected to interfere with the establishment or preservation of the distribution required by the difference principle is prohibited by that principle. Nozick concludes that the difference principle is unacceptable because it prohibits a large class of actions, namely, transfers of goods, which are not unjust and whose prohibition constitutes an intolerable limitation on individual liberty. But even if RaMs can rebut Nozick's instability objection, there is another, more serious sort of instability objection to which the difference principle-and any end-state principle-may be liable. It is generally acknowledged that problems of rectifying past injustices present an awesome challenge to any theory of justice. Recent philosophical literature has focused on the plight of 'victims' of 'compensatory justice'. The most forceful complaint of one who is disadvantaged through efforts to rectify past injustice is not simply that his wants have been thwarted, but also that, as a result of rectificatory policies, his rational long-term planning and consistent execution of plans have worked against him. Quota systems for university admissions illustrate this point well.

Philosophy & public affairs, 1988

Recent years have seen a marked increase in the use of and enthusiasm for advance directives for ... more Recent years have seen a marked increase in the use of and enthusiasm for advance directives for medical care. Perhaps the most familiar type of advance directive is the living will, a document whereby a person when competent issues more or less specific ...

Social Philosophy and Policy, 1984

Future historians of moral and political philosophy may well label our period the Age of Rights. ... more Future historians of moral and political philosophy may well label our period the Age of Rights. In moral philosophy it is now widely assumed that the two most plausible types of normative theories are Utilitarianism and Kantian theories and that the contest between them must be decided in the end by seeing whether Utilitarianism can accommodate a prominent role for rights in morality. In political philosophy even the most bitter opponents in the perennial debate over conflicts between liberty and equality often share a common assumption: that the issue of liberty versus equality can only be resolved (or dissolved) by determining which is the correct theory of rights. Some contend that equal respect for persons requires enforcement of moral rights to goods and services required for the pursuit of one's own conception of the good, while others protest that an enforced system of ‘positive’ rights violates the right to liberty whose recognition is the essence of equal respect for p...

Philosophy <html_ent glyph="@amp;" ascii="&"/> Public Affairs, 2004

9. I choose the term 'nonliberal' rather than 'illiberal' because the latter carries a negative c... more 9. I choose the term 'nonliberal' rather than 'illiberal' because the latter carries a negative connotation and to that extent is prejudicial in an article that makes a case in favor of liberal institutions.

Philosophy <html_ent glyph="@amp;" ascii="&"/> Public Affairs, 2006

Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 1976

Philosophical Topics, 2002

Philosophical Papers, 1991

Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 1996

The mandate of the U.S. Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments required that the Commi... more The mandate of the U.S. Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments required that the Committee take a position on the validity of retrospective moral judgments. However, throughout its period of operation, the Committee remained divided on the question of whether sound judgments of individual culpability and wrongdoing should be included in its Final Report. This essay examines the arguments that various committee members marshalled to support their opposing views on retrospective moral judgment and explains the significance of the controversy.

Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 2008

The Journal of Philosophy, 1982

Ethics, 1987

Page 1. SURVEY ARTICLE Marx, Morality, and History: An Assessment of Recent Analytical Work on Ma... more Page 1. SURVEY ARTICLE Marx, Morality, and History: An Assessment of Recent Analytical Work on Marx Allen E. Buchanan THE REHABILITATION OF MARX AS PHILOSOPHER Only fifteen years ago the works of Marx received ...