#chapter 162.2

[bestbonnist]

Chapter 162.2

First page:

She's heard their "true identity".

Last page:

Even though the shape of it has changed, their bond continues.

To be continued next time.

[greensword101]

For a few months now, I was looking through BH6 fanart and I found this art depicting a younger!Hiro doing several different activities, and the last one on the bottom of the picture had him in his super-hero outfit. The first thing that came to mind was "What If Hiro Were Younger During The Story?"

And a week or so ago, I found this little post on Tumblr sharing my thoughts and thinking that it would have made the story a lot darker. I had been working on pieces of the story for almost 2 months now, just some scenes here and there, but the first chapter was the one that got the most work done on it.

So before I bore anyone, let me conclude that this will be an AU where everything stays the same except for Hiro's age. Please be warned that this story will be darker than the movie - it was pretty dark already with some of its themes - and will deal with some big issues as well as the story progresses.

I plan on avoiding the pitfalls of following every part of the story exactly the way it did because age really makes a difference. Don't expect anything to be exactly the same. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

: Hiro Hamada: Bot FighterNotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes)

Tonight was the night.

The air was cold and crisp, his breath visible in the dark. Not unusual for a late February evening…or as late as 8:00 could be.

He walked down the street with his hood up, trying to keep his ears warm. Hands shoved into his pockets, fingers curled up in an effort to fight the cold, twitching here and there. He could barely contain himself, his entire body coursed with energy. Streetlights were slowly being turned on, the buildings becoming darker and grayer, graffiti decorating the walls. A trolley screeched past, bringing few passengers inside. Was the nearest stop close to the meeting area this time?

How much further? A quick look at the GPS said at least two more city blocks. 1800 feet. 162.2 square feet. 21600 inches. Any distance that made it seem like he was getting there. He was so close, and it still felt like a journey away.

Noises began to echo down the sidewalk. The sounds of metal grinding against metal could be heard too. Jeers and boos could be made out, though the words were incomprehensible. If he was correct, then the GPS was just trying to get him to take the long way again. But if he wasn't, would his back-up plan keep him safe? He felt around in his pockets, feeling around for the two most important things he needed tonight.

He followed the noise until it the building to his left divided into two, leaving an opening in the middle. The noise was stronger now, he had to cover his ears.

A large crowd circled in the alley. He could squeeze past them without much difficulty, they ignored him, not seeing his size as something to worry about. It was possible that the crowd didn't even realize someone was trying to push through. When he made it through the thicket of legs, he could get a better look. There were still people in front of him, holding robots in their hands of different designs. One painted with flames. Another with wheels for hands and feet.

Another looked like a beach ball, large enough that its owner, a young woman, couldn't hold it. He liked that bot the best, it was white and orange all over and had a little head on top. Whatever it could do in a bot fight, it could clearly act on its own. It made beeping sounds that the three owners seemed to understand completely, and was even able to move around on its own without a remote control visible.

But the real action was in the center of the space made by the crowd. Two robots, one standing at two feet while the other was double its height, faced each other. The foot-tall robot was stout with a small head equipped with a samurai helmet and wielding a shield in one hand and razer-claws in the other. A quick look from behind the bot, seeing its owner, over six-feet tall and fat stretching out the jacket and sweatpants he was wearing. The man looked like he belonged in a sumo ring. Maybe he was a sumo?

A giggle rumbled through his chest and escaped from his lips before a hand clamped over it. He had to be quiet. He didn't want anyone to notice him. Yet. Watching a fight happen was always good, it gave him a chance to figure out what his opponents were like.

Sumo's opponent was a teenaged girl with purple hair and wearing goggles. A smart idea, sparks could hit your eyes if you weren't careful. There wasn't much else to say. It was the bots he was focusing on, Sumo just looked more interesting, too, no offense to Goggle-Girl.

He could see her fingers jabbing rapidly at the buttons on her remote. Her robot, small and narrow with pincer hands, bobbed and weaved, striking and dodging the fat robot's blows. It struck a few times, knocking its opponent down. The fat robot picked itself and caught the pincer bot's leg, dragging it down and began spinning it around like a pinwheel.

As it poised for the killing blow, the fat robot caught the arm with one hand and struck its opponent with the other, the circular hand suddenly spiked, hacking at the helpless robot hitting it in an effortless attempt to escape. If it has a voice, he thought it might have screamed.

Only scrap metal remained where the smaller robot once stood.

A woman with an eye-patch holding a dish with money it in circled the 'arena.' She said. "And the winner by TOTAL. ANNIHILATION. …YAMA!"

Sumo, also known as Yama, but would still be called Sumo in his mind, raised a fist in triumph. He bared his teeth at the crowd, shoveling the money off the tray and into his jacket. "Anyone else want to go against Yama?"

No response.

There was a noise like something was being ripped apart for a moment. A quick look behind showed someone holding the body of a robot in one hand and the robot's head in another. It was saddening, to see someone quit before anything even happened. He saw the girl with the beach-ball robot stand in front of it protectively, as if someone would try taking it away from her.

Now was his chance!

"I-I'll try." His voice shook and came out squeaking. No one except for the Eye-Patch Lady seemed to hear him. He cleared his throat and said louder. "I'll give it a try. I have a robot."

He dug into his jacket and pulled out Megabot, made up of three parts, each with a circular center with sides extending out on each side. There was a smiley face painted on the center part of the piece on top.

Now people noticed him. Some were starting to whisper with each other, "What's a kid doing here?"

"Where are his parents?"

"That kid's crazy."

"Yama'll crush him."

Sumo bellowed a laugh, encouraging some of the audience to do so as well. The girl with the Beach Ball robot frowned and pulled out her phone. Probably sending a message onto PlaceBook about some little kid Bot-fighting. That's happened plenty of times before for the past few months, now.

Eye-Patch Lady glared at him. "Where are your parents, kid?"

"Back home." He lied. "But they know I'm here."

"Age?"

"Ten, but I look a lot younger." He had just turned eight three months after graduating high school. That got a few chuckles of disbelief.

Eye-Patch Lady continued frowning. Sumo frowned too.

"I don't deal with brats." Sumo said. "And it's a 'you pay to play' rule. No freebees. No exceptions."

"I have money." He dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out several rolled-up wads of cash. Sumo's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He could almost hear the thoughts going through the older man's head: The brat's serious?!

"What's your name, little boy?" Sumo said as his frown curved into a large smile. He shuddered, hoping that Microbot would handle him too.

"H-Hiro." He said. "Hiro Hamada."

"Gutsy kid." Eye-Patch Lady muttered. She walked over to Hiro and held out the tray, huffing as she did so. This was no different from the other times he went through this. People would laugh, they might even coo at him when he brought out Megabot, and it took a little extra admission to take a part in the action. He had burst into tears the first time he was laughed at.

"Place the money here and don't cry if you lose."

"I won't." Hiro smiled. This was it. Sumo pulled several wads of cash out of his track jacket – he could see bare skin underneath, gross! – and placed it on the outstretched tray. Hiro stood on his tippy-toes and placed the money rolls onto the tray too – Eye-Patch Lady didn't bother trying to bring the tray low enough and even nearly snapped the lid over his fingers when he was adding a few extra coins – and made his way to the center of the 'arena'. There was a circular mat in front of him as well as one in front of Sumo.

"Last chance to walk out with your money, brat." Sumo said. He still had that sneer on his face.

"I'm good." Hiro shook his head. He looked at Sumo's robot and added. "Your robot's really cool. How'd you make it?"

Sumo glared at him. "You're not mocking Yama, are you?"

Hiro frowned. "No…I think it looks nice. I saw what it did with that other bot. How'd you make it?"

Sumo's face lightened up a little. That didn't make him seem any friendlier-looking, though. "Not much of an engineer, but money can work wonders. Never saw that thing being sold anywhere before."

"Megabot?" Hiro looked down at his creation and back at Sumo. "I made him."

"Awww." Sumo sneered. "Do you sleep in bed with that thing?"

"No…"

Eye-Patch Lady walked into the arena. "Fighters, ready your Bots!"

Hiro watched Sumo sit on his own mat with his legs crisscross and imitated the action. When Sumo placed his robot in front of him, Hiro put Megabot in front of him as well. A moment later, he pulled out the controller for Megabot, just two analog sticks on the small device…at the moment.

Eye-Patch Lady pulled out an ancient-looking umbrella – the kind that didn't look like could be useful in rain – and held it between the two Bots in the arena.

Sumo cracked his neck menacingly. Hiro cracked his knuckles, trying to get the blood flowing.

Eye-Patch Lady looked at the two of them and said. "Two Bots enter, one Bot le –"

"Oh, thank God, Hiro! There you are!" The girl with the beach ball-bot came running into the center of the arena and pulled Hiro into an embrace. Hiro automatically began struggling against the contact, kicking and scratching as best as he could.

"Help! Kidnapper!" He cried. No one came to his aid.

"You know this brat?" Eye-Patch Lady asked. Other voices started muttering among themselves in confusion, like frightened sheep.

"My brother." The girl spoke quickly. The beach-ball bot started beeping, as if it would confirm her words.

"Liar, she's lying!" Hiro yelled. He tugged at the girl, but she just gripped more tightly until his arm started to hurt.

Eye-Patch Lady didn't seem to hear him and continued speaking to the girl as she started dragging Hiro away from the arena. "I don't see a resemblance."

"I'm his step-sister." The girl replied. Her voice quivered a little.

"Are we Bot-fighting or not?!" Sumo bellowed. Was this guy used to having to wait for something? The crowd was starting to look annoyed too. Some of them were even waving their fists threateningly at the girl.

"No. This match is cancelled." The girl continued dragging Hiro away until several members of the crowd intercepted, blocking the way out. Hiro silently thanked them for intervening. Eye-Patch Lady walked in front of them. Beach-ball bot started wailing threateningly.

"Wanna tell us who you really are, missy?" Eye-Patch Lady asked. She smiled viciously. "We don't appreciate liars."

"I'm telling you the truth, I'm Hiro's older sister through marriage. Our brother's been worried sick and we've been looking all over for the tyke." Brother? This was starting to sound like that boring book about the orphan that went on and on and on. The girl even had a British accent!

Sumo sounded more annoyed now. "I'm not interested in some cock-and-bull story, I want –"

"Yes, yes, we all know you want to Bot-fight, but could you please be quiet and let the grown-ups talk?" The girl said dryly.

That proved to be the wrong thing to say.

A moment later, Hiro felt himself being separated from the girl and watched as she was pushed against a wall. Sumo was right in her face and looked like he was going to hit her.

"No one mocks Yama!" He bellowed. He glanced at some of the people in the crowd, the same ones that had stopped Hiro and the girl from leaving. "Teach her a lesson."

There was a loud beeping sound and then Hiro felt something roll past him and get in-between the girl and her would-be attackers.

"BB-8, don't!" The girl pleaded. "I can handle this."

Hiro felt something yank the hood of his jacket, choking him as he was dragged back to the arena. He was pushed back onto his mat and faced a glaring Sumo, ready to commit murder.

"Bot-fight. Now. No interruptions."

Alright, that wasn't what he was hoping for, but –finally! But it didn't feel that great to get to business without interruption. Sumo was starting to scare him a bit. He took one last look at the girl and stopped. Hiro took a deep breath.

"Want to make this interesting?" Hiro smiled politely. He was thankful that his voice wasn't trembling.

Sumo said in an aggravated voice. "What?"

"If I win, you tell your friends to let her go." Hiro pointed to the girl, baring her fists out for a fight. "But if you win…um…"

There was no way Sumo would be satisfied with just his money…

"I keep the robot." Sumo sneered, clearly enjoying his attempts at intimidation.

"I can always make another one." Hiro shrugged automatically. He began calculating how long it would take to make a second Megabot after all of those trials and errors. Six months, with Dashi sometimes giving a few pointers, was only enough to make Megabot move in one direction. He was starting to forget the small, but important details, but it wasn't something that his book couldn't help him out with.

"Not that pathetic thing!" Sumo snapped. Hiro glared indignantly. Sumo pointed at the beach-ball bot. "That one."

The beach-ball bot began beeping in alarm, as if it understood what was being said.

"Please, don't!" The girl was ignored. There was sounds of scuffling, fists being thrown and more grunts of pain were coming from the thugs than the girl.

"Deal." Hiro nodded. So much for his original plan. He reached for his remote and extended it. Sumo blinked in surprise.

Eye-Patch Lady was back in the center. She was starting to look impatient. "Two Bots enter…yadayadayda. GO!"

"Prepare to feel the wrath of Little Yama!" Sumo bellowed. Hiro shuddered. He didn't know why, but that name sounded…wrong!

Megabot sat limply, waiting for a command as Little Yama marched towards it.

"Megabot." Hiro grinned menacingly. "Destroy!"

His fingers began jamming at buttons and toggles, the smiley face on Megabot probably got replaced with a more menacing expression now if he was guessing the reactions correctly. No one ever laughed when the faces changed. Little Yama slammed its blade down, but Megabot already disassembled itself and began snaking across the concrete. One piece made its way up Little Yama's body while the others followed suit. Hiro wanted to show off a little more, but…he looked back at the girl, now being physically restrained again while the beach-ball bot was backed into a corner.

All three pieces reconnected and made a noose around Little Yama's neck, spinning around and around until it popped off. The arms still swung at Megabot wildly for a few moments until stopping, being pinned down by the separate pieces of Megabot and ripped out of the body in a few seconds. Hiro smiled as Megabot reassembled and leapt off Little Yama's 'corpse', stopping in front of Hiro before bowing and becoming lifeless once more.

There was no cheering, no protests, only silence. And then there was the sound of fists colliding with flesh and several thuds!

Too bad for Little Yama. Hiro thought smugly.

"A deal's a deal, Yama." Hiro smirked. He looked at the shocked Eye-Patch Lady and cleared his throat. She quickly rushed over to him and lowed the tray to his height. As Hiro scooped up his winnings into his jacket pocket, he felt someone rush up to him, prepared to pull him into an embrace. Hiro pushed away, looking up to see the girl blushing with embarrassment. The girl's mouth was gaping open. There were groans behind her, Hiro looked back and saw several of the men restraining her on the ground, clutching injured body parts. She had a bruise on her cheek, but looked fine overall. The beach ball bot, BB-8, rolled towards the two, bumping into Hiro a few times gently like it was trying to give him a hug. He gave the robot's head a few light pats in return, giggling when BB-8 beeped in response.

The girl opened and closed her mouth a few times, several words making it out. "How – how did you – what the –"

"You're welcome." Hiro said begrudgingly. He looked the older girl in the eye as sternly as he could. "I just didn't want you to get hurt, now leave me alone before he loses it."

He pointed to Sumo, still gaping in shock at the destruction of his "Little Yama."

"And why don't you come home before Aunt Cass loses it?" A new voice spoke up in the silence.

Uh-oh!

Hiro turned in the direction of the voice and saw a tall figure; standing at least six feet tall, dressed in a light green jacket, black hair like Hiro's, brown eyes – not that Hiro could see, but he knew they were there – and wearing a frayed baseball cap on top of his head. He had just gotten off a moped with the kickstand keeping it up and made his way over to Hiro, glaring at him. Hiro shrunk back a little he didn't want Dashi to be mad at him.

"Are you okay? How did you get here? What did I tell you about Bot-fighting? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Dashi said angrily before taking a deep breath. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

Hiro reluctantly shook his head.

The girl sighed with relief. She spoke rapidly now, her words jumbled together in her excitement. "Thank God, Tadashi, I didn't know how long it was going to take you, so I tried improvising and well, that just made things worse and then they both did the Bot-fight anyways and this is BB-8, by the way and I'm not boring you, am I?"

Dashi knew her?!

He didn't get an answer, since Dashi was starting to look uncomfortable now. His eyes widened with worry. When Dashi finally spoke, it was in a frantic whisper.

"Rey, take Hiro and run. I'll catch up with you."

Hiro turned around and saw Sumo looking at them with a hateful look in his eyes, his teeth grinding loudly against one another, his face turning a nasty shade of purple and his hands twitching like he wanted to break something.

"No one beats Yama!" Sumo whispered harshly. He turned to the crowd. "GET THEM!"

If you want to see the rest of this fanfic so far, check these links below. Be sure to comment and like when you’re done.

http://archiveofourown.org/works/10880910/chapters/24176910

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12483996/1/Child-Prodigy

[benrleeusa]

[David Bernstein] Georg Vanberg: Democracy in Chains and James M. Buchanan on school integration

Students at UCLA. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images, file)

Georg Vanberg, professor of political science and law at Duke University, asked me to post the short essay below on his behalf.

Much ink has been spilled over Nancy MacLean’s “Democracy in Chains,” a book that places Nobel Laureate James M. Buchanan at the center of a right-wing conspiracy to undermine American democracy. Central to MacLean’s argument – indeed, part of the dramatic opening story of the book, and the focus of the fourth chapter – is the insinuation that Buchanan’s academic work was animated by racial animus and, in particular, opposition to the integration of Southern schools following the Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Importantly – and this is why I call it an insinuation – Professor MacLean offers no evidence in support of this rather serious charge.

Of course, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. It turns out, however, that there exist documents that relate to James Buchanan’s views on education and school segregation. And this evidence directly contradicts Professor MacLean’s characterization, and suggests that Buchanan strongly opposed segregation, and supported diversity in education. It comes from two of Buchanan’s letters (available here and here). (I was alerted to these letters by Professor Jeremy Shearmur of Australian National University, who came across them while conducting research at the Hoover Institution. The location of the letters at Hoover is in the IEA archive, Box 162.2. Professor MacLean lists this archive among the archival collections she consulted for her book.)

In 1984, Buchanan was asked to contribute to an essay collection on school vouchers, edited by Arthur Seldon. In two letters, Buchanan politely declined to participate. And then, Buchanan offers a brief comment on his views on education and school vouchers. Critically, he voices reservations about the introduction of vouchers. Why? Because, as he writes, he is concerned “somehow, to avoid the evils of race-class-cultural segregation that an unregulated voucher scheme might introduce.” Buchanan then goes on to express support for introducing competition in the provision of education, but notes that this should be done in a way that serves “at the same time, to secure the potential benefits of commonly shared experiences, including exposure to other races, classes, and cultures.” In short, though brief, Buchanan’s letter eloquently expresses a vision of education that champions the value of diversity, explicitly condemns “the evils of race-class-cultural segregation,” and notes his reservations about school vouchers if they threaten these values. This is powerful evidence: Buchanan is writing a private letter to a person who is sympathetic to his academic approach and supports voucher systems. There is little reason to doubt that the statement expresses anything other than Buchanan’s sincere views.

It is unfortunate that Professor MacLean appears to have missed these critical documents in her research in the Buchanan and IEA archives. This is not a minor oversight. The central rhetorical strategy of Professor MacLean’s book is the insinuation that Buchanan (and others working in the public choice tradition) were motivated by racial animus, and a desire to maintain the dominant position of a privileged, white, male elite. According to MacLean, this led them to develop a particular approach to thinking about politics, and to advocate for institutional and constitutional rules that, according to Professor MacLean, institutionalize (among other ills) racist practices. Buchanan’s letters to Seldon directly contradict this unsubstantiated characterization of Buchanan’s motivations and views. More importantly, the attitudes that Buchanan expresses in his letters are entirely consistent with what I take to be the foundation of Buchanan’s academic work, and his contractarian political philosophy: a fundamental commitment to the equal treatment of all individuals, and opposition to institutionalized privilege for anyone (for more detail, see here and here).

[nancyedimick]

Georg Vanberg: Democracy in Chains and James M. Buchanan on school integration

Students at UCLA. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images, file)

Georg Vanberg, professor of political science and law at Duke University, asked me to post the short essay below on his behalf.

Much ink has been spilled over Nancy MacLean’s “Democracy in Chains,” a book that places Nobel Laureate James M. Buchanan at the center of a right-wing conspiracy to undermine American democracy. Central to MacLean’s argument – indeed, part of the dramatic opening story of the book, and the focus of the fourth chapter – is the insinuation that Buchanan’s academic work was animated by racial animus and, in particular, opposition to the integration of Southern schools following the Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Importantly – and this is why I call it an insinuation – Professor MacLean offers no evidence in support of this rather serious charge.

Of course, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. It turns out, however, that there exist documents that relate to James Buchanan’s views on education and school segregation. And this evidence directly contradicts Professor MacLean’s characterization, and suggests that Buchanan strongly opposed segregation, and supported diversity in education. It comes from two of Buchanan’s letters (available here and here). (I was alerted to these letters by Professor Jeremy Shearmur of Australian National University, who came across them while conducting research at the Hoover Institution. The location of the letters at Hoover is in the IEA archive, Box 162.2. Professor MacLean lists this archive among the archival collections she consulted for her book.)

In 1984, Buchanan was asked to contribute to an essay collection on school vouchers, edited by Arthur Seldon. In two letters, Buchanan politely declined to participate. And then, Buchanan offers a brief comment on his views on education and school vouchers. Critically, he voices reservations about the introduction of vouchers. Why? Because, as he writes, he is concerned “somehow, to avoid the evils of race-class-cultural segregation that an unregulated voucher scheme might introduce.” Buchanan then goes on to express support for introducing competition in the provision of education, but notes that this should be done in a way that serves “at the same time, to secure the potential benefits of commonly shared experiences, including exposure to other races, classes, and cultures.” In short, though brief, Buchanan’s letter eloquently expresses a vision of education that champions the value of diversity, explicitly condemns “the evils of race-class-cultural segregation,” and notes his reservations about school vouchers if they threaten these values. This is powerful evidence: Buchanan is writing a private letter to a person who is sympathetic to his academic approach and supports voucher systems. There is little reason to doubt that the statement expresses anything other than Buchanan’s sincere views.

It is unfortunate that Professor MacLean appears to have missed these critical documents in her research in the Buchanan and IEA archives. This is not a minor oversight. The central rhetorical strategy of Professor MacLean’s book is the insinuation that Buchanan (and others working in the public choice tradition) were motivated by racial animus, and a desire to maintain the dominant position of a privileged, white, male elite. According to MacLean, this led them to develop a particular approach to thinking about politics, and to advocate for institutional and constitutional rules that, according to Professor MacLean, institutionalize (among other ills) racist practices. Buchanan’s letters to Seldon directly contradict this unsubstantiated characterization of Buchanan’s motivations and views. More importantly, the attitudes that Buchanan expresses in his letters are entirely consistent with what I take to be the foundation of Buchanan’s academic work, and his contractarian political philosophy: a fundamental commitment to the equal treatment of all individuals, and opposition to institutionalized privilege for anyone (for more detail, see here and here).

Originally Found On: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/09/01/georg-vanberg-democracy-in-chains-and-james-m-buchanan-on-school-integration/

[wolfandpravato]

Georg Vanberg: Democracy in Chains and James M. Buchanan on school integration

Students at UCLA. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images, file)

Georg Vanberg, professor of political science and law at Duke University, asked me to post the short essay below on his behalf.

Much ink has been spilled over Nancy MacLean’s “Democracy in Chains,” a book that places Nobel Laureate James M. Buchanan at the center of a right-wing conspiracy to undermine American democracy. Central to MacLean’s argument – indeed, part of the dramatic opening story of the book, and the focus of the fourth chapter – is the insinuation that Buchanan’s academic work was animated by racial animus and, in particular, opposition to the integration of Southern schools following the Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Importantly – and this is why I call it an insinuation – Professor MacLean offers no evidence in support of this rather serious charge.

Of course, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. It turns out, however, that there exist documents that relate to James Buchanan’s views on education and school segregation. And this evidence directly contradicts Professor MacLean’s characterization, and suggests that Buchanan strongly opposed segregation, and supported diversity in education. It comes from two of Buchanan’s letters (available here and here). (I was alerted to these letters by Professor Jeremy Shearmur of Australian National University, who came across them while conducting research at the Hoover Institution. The location of the letters at Hoover is in the IEA archive, Box 162.2. Professor MacLean lists this archive among the archival collections she consulted for her book.)

In 1984, Buchanan was asked to contribute to an essay collection on school vouchers, edited by Arthur Seldon. In two letters, Buchanan politely declined to participate. And then, Buchanan offers a brief comment on his views on education and school vouchers. Critically, he voices reservations about the introduction of vouchers. Why? Because, as he writes, he is concerned “somehow, to avoid the evils of race-class-cultural segregation that an unregulated voucher scheme might introduce.” Buchanan then goes on to express support for introducing competition in the provision of education, but notes that this should be done in a way that serves “at the same time, to secure the potential benefits of commonly shared experiences, including exposure to other races, classes, and cultures.” In short, though brief, Buchanan’s letter eloquently expresses a vision of education that champions the value of diversity, explicitly condemns “the evils of race-class-cultural segregation,” and notes his reservations about school vouchers if they threaten these values. This is powerful evidence: Buchanan is writing a private letter to a person who is sympathetic to his academic approach and supports voucher systems. There is little reason to doubt that the statement expresses anything other than Buchanan’s sincere views.

It is unfortunate that Professor MacLean appears to have missed these critical documents in her research in the Buchanan and IEA archives. This is not a minor oversight. The central rhetorical strategy of Professor MacLean’s book is the insinuation that Buchanan (and others working in the public choice tradition) were motivated by racial animus, and a desire to maintain the dominant position of a privileged, white, male elite. According to MacLean, this led them to develop a particular approach to thinking about politics, and to advocate for institutional and constitutional rules that, according to Professor MacLean, institutionalize (among other ills) racist practices. Buchanan’s letters to Seldon directly contradict this unsubstantiated characterization of Buchanan’s motivations and views. More importantly, the attitudes that Buchanan expresses in his letters are entirely consistent with what I take to be the foundation of Buchanan’s academic work, and his contractarian political philosophy: a fundamental commitment to the equal treatment of all individuals, and opposition to institutionalized privilege for anyone (for more detail, see here and here).

Originally Found On: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/09/01/georg-vanberg-democracy-in-chains-and-james-m-buchanan-on-school-integration/