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Models of democratic decision-making tend to assume that voters have preferences and that candidates adjust their platforms to conform with those preferences; however, the direction of causation is largely the opposite. Political elites offer policy platforms to voters, and voters adopt those policies - they follow their leaders. Following Their Leaders argues that policies are designed by the elite and the electorate has little say. Preferences for public policy tend to be anchored in a political identity associated with a candidate, party, or ideology; voters' preferences on most issues are derived from their anchor preferences. Holcombe argues that because citizens adopt the policies offered by the elite, democratic institutions are ineffective constraints on the exercise of political power. This volume explores political institutions that help control the elite who exercise political power and discusses the implications political preferences have on democracies.

Intro -- Preface -- Contents -- Chapter 1: The Concept of Power -- Types of Power -- The Concept of Power -- Institutions and Power -- Consent Versus Coercion -- Power and Persuasion -- The Desire for Power -- Coordination, Cooperation, and Control -- Chapter 2: Political Power -- The Hierarchy of Political Power -- Political Power Is Segmented and Often Dispersed -- Political Power Produces a Class-Based Society -- Elites and Masses -- Transaction Costs and Political Power -- Military and Political Power -- Religious Power -- Coercion and Power -- Propaganda and Patriotism -- Can People Agree to Be Coerced? -- Incentives Facing Those with Political Power -- Political Power Resists Change -- Chapter 3: Economic Power -- Institutions That Protect Economic Power -- Economic Power Versus Market Power -- Economic Power in Neoclassical Economics -- Economic Freedom and Economic Power -- Economic Power and Persuasion -- Incentives Facing Those with Economic Power -- Creative Destruction -- Welfare Economics -- Market Failure -- Inequality -- Competition or Cooperation? -- Factors of Production and Political Power -- Institutions Define the Scope of Economic Power -- Chapter 4: The Separation of Economic from Political Power -- Political Power Is Hierarchical -- Economic Power Is Egalitarian -- Economic Progress -- Political Power and Stability -- When Economic and Political Power Are Combined -- When Economic and Political Power Are Separated -- The Knowledge Problem -- Institutional Power and Personal Power -- Political Confiscation of Economic Power -- The Power Elite -- Checks and Balances -- The Problem with Democracy -- Economic and Political Power -- Chapter 5: Power in Pre-Agricultural Societies -- Law and Order in Clan-Based Versus Larger Societies -- Power in Clan-Based Societies -- Premonetary Economies -- Pooling Versus Reciprocity.

Problems associated with cronyism, corporatism, and policies that favor the elite over the masses have received increasing attention in recent years. Political Capitalism explains that what people often view as the result of corruption and unethical behavior are symptoms of a distinct system of political economy. The symptoms of political capitalism are often viewed as the result of government intervention in a market economy, or as attributes of a capitalist economy itself. Randall G. Holcombe combines well-established theories in economics and the social sciences to show that political capitalism is not a mixed economy, or government intervention in a market economy, or some intermediate step between capitalism and socialism. After developing the economic theory of political capitalism, Holcombe goes on to explain how changes in political ideology have facilitated the growth of political capitalism, and what can be done to redirect public policy back toward the public interest

Using public choice economic methods, this Advanced Introduction presents a focused narrative about political decision-making based on the work that has defined the discipline. Each chapter ends with a Notes section to discuss the research on which the chapter is based, with an emphasis on the pioneering work that has shaped the development of public choice. Randall G. Holcombe emphasizes the theoretical foundations of public choice, with the idea that it offers a context within which empirical research can be understood. This book successfully explores the political decision-making process for readers and ensures that they understand how preferences of citizens are aggregated to produce public policies.--Provided by Publisher

Introduction: The Austrian School past and present / Randall G. Holcombe -- Juan de Mariana: The influence of the Spanish scholastics / Jesús Huerta de Soto -- Richard Cantillon: The origin of economic theory / Mark Thornton -- A.R.J. Turgot: Brief, lucid, and brilliant / Murray N. Rothbard -- Jean-Baptiste Say: Neglected champion of laissez-faire / Larry J. Sechrest -- Frédéric Bastiat: Between the French and marginalist revolutions / Thomas J. DiLorenzo -- Carl Menger: The founding of the Austrian School / Joseph T. Salerno -- Philip Wicksteed: The British Austrian / Israel M. Kirzner -- Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk: Captital, interest, and time / Roger W. Garrison -- Frank A. Fetter: A forgotten giant / Jeffrey M. Herbener -- Ludwig von Mises: The dean of the Austrian School / Murray N. Rothbard -- Henry Hazlitt: The people's Austrian / Jeffrey Tucker -- F.A. Hayek: Austrian economist and social theorist / Peter G. Klein -- William H. Hutt: The "classical" Austrian / John B. Egger -- Wilhelm Röpke: A humane economist / Shawn Ritenour -- Murray N. Rothbard: Economics, science, and liberty / Hans-Hermann Hoppe.

"Erudite, accessible and lucidly written, this book provides both a stimulating introduction and excellent summary of the core principles, ideas and diversity of modern Austrian economics. The Austrian school was well within the mainstream of economic thought by the 1930s, but fell from prominence by the middle of the twentieth century. There was a renewed interest in the Austrian school's ideas beginning in the 1970s which has accelerated recently, but many economists do not have a good understanding about the distinguishing values and characteristics that set it apart. This volume is aimed at readers who already have a familiarity with economic analysis, but would like to know more about the distinct philosophies of the Austrian school." -- Back cover