This volume presents a collection of the most representative works of Buchanan regarding methodology and economic analysis. As Robert D Tollison notes in the preface, “(Included are) some of Buchanan's most frequently referenced works on methodology, including those reflecting his emphasis on the subjective nature of opportunity costs and the implications of this subjectivity for economic analysis.”

The works collected in this volume also demonstrate Buchanan's ongoing interest throughout his career in the ideas and issues raised by economic theory. Buchanan shows throughout this volume that he believes economic theory can help explain the world around us. Spanning nearly fifty years of his career, Buchanan’s writings in this volume exhibit a consistent line of thought and belief, as ideas are repeated from work to work, becoming increasingly rich and resonant.

The thirty-six works represented here are grouped into main categories: the practice and methodology of economic theory; competition and entrepreneurship; monopoly theory; input prices; opportunity costs and efficient prices; increasing returns and work ethic; economic theory in a post-socialist world. It is clear that these articles collectively reflect a wide range of issues and offer us endless insights.

Beyond that, they give us a picture of the theorist in his workshop. They familiarize us with what interests him and how he approaches important issues. In the conclusion of his opening essay, “Is economics the science of choice?”, Buchanan encapsulates the wealth of thought available in this volume: “Modern economics, as practiced by professional scholars, incorporates confusions that are fundamentally methodological. For me, I do not claim that my own thinking has been entirely free from the examples of neoclassical orthodoxy.”