The regret experienced by Jack and Jill cannot be ignored. In contrast to the repressiveness of Leviathan, however, at least it is the consequence of their own free compacting. The constitution once in place, it was their personal and private wish that they should thereafter start from here but from there as well. Slopes and intercepts mutate. Indifference curves shift up and down.
Most economists treat the re-contracting as timeless and costless.
Buchanan is realistic enough to see it as a hurdle. The process takes time. It involves a cost. Writing as an economist, Buchanan concludes that the cost-effective choice will often be to renounce altogether the pursuit of the more satisfying endstate that burns up more resources than it is worth. Constitutional conservatism cuts down on waste.