Political systems shape, sometimes control, and often misdirect economic systems. Until public choice theory revived the study of political economy, this biased method of analysis dominated the economics profession and still does to a large extent. Chapter 2 explains the role of the political science profession in creating an equally unrealistic and utopian vision of the political process. Apparently, nearly the entire political science profession does. Part II of Beyond Politics is an eloquent presentation of most of the major tenets of public choice theory.
Government intervention can only impede the beneficial effects of market competition.
At this point Mitchell and Simmons should have introduced the work of the late Murray Rothbard, the Austrian economist who has made the most devastating theoretical critique of welfare economics. Beyond Politics is must reading for all who wish to understand the political economy. It is the best exposition of public choice theory I know of for use in undergraduate classes, and it is filled with hundreds of references that will be especially useful to researchers who are new to the field. Mitchell and Simmons have produced a most valuable addition to the literature on the institutions of a free society. The Views expressed by the authors of the articles are their own and are not attributable to the editor, editorial board, or the Cato Institute.