Analysis Of Social Change

The task at hand, an examination of growth in school choice policies, is one case study of larger inquiries: How does social change happen? What can we learn about past social changes? And what can this knowledge tell us about the future?

What is social change? DEFINITION don’t forget political change and discussion

In their book Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers, Wayne Leighton and Ed Lopez present a model of social change that combines public choice analysis and intellectual shifts to explain how change happens. They use public choice analysis to examine the institutions, and the particular incentives which follow from particular institutions, that influence political actors. Institutions do not occur by chance. They arise from “bottom up and top down” forces that spread ideas (Leighton and Lopez 120). Following their analysis of the forces of political change, Leighton and Lopez argue that their understanding can be utilized by political entrepreneurs who intend to create social change.

Economists Leighton and Lopez were both students of James M. Buchanan, a pioneer of the public choice framework in economics. Buchanan succinctly described public choice in his essay Politics without Romance as “the economic theory of politics” or “the theory of government failure” as a response “to the theory of market failure” (Buchanan 45). When Buchanan uses the term economic theory, he is referring to the positive analysis of individuals interacting in markets. The center of economic analysis is exchange between individuals. This form of analysis is typically utilized to study producers and consumers, firms and industries, individuals and societies. Public choice extends this framework to how individuals act in political cont...

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...will create the greatest value in terms of political change. If a political entrepreneur has identified that her niche is in spreading political ideas through journalism, and she has identified a few opportunities for change relevant to her skillset, she should pursue the field that will allow her to create the greatest change for her time. Leighton and Lopez recognize that even if a political entrepreneur follows these tips, they may not be successful. Ultimately, success comes down to “getting lucky (sort of)” (Leighton and Lopez 188). Leighton and Lopez wrote their book in an attempt to explain “why some policies get repealed and others do not” (Leighton and Lopez 10). The social science of political change is a relatively new field, and there is much to be learned about successful political entrepreneurship. Political change is to some degree, a game of chance.