Part of Buchanan's Legacy

Tyler Cowen, speaking of economist James M. Buchanan, who died the other day:

Along with Harsanyi, he formulated aspects of the “original position” before Rawls did and he was a major influence on Rawls. By the way, I have seen Buchanan numerous times with top professional philosophers, and he has no problem holding his own or better.

Interesting. I had no idea. I haven't really read Buchanan or Rawls much, but I'm always running into this "original position" business among those interested in contemporary political philosophy.

The original position is a thought experiment
which, rather than leading to mirth and merriment,
leads to heated discussions and personal attacks
about whether to choose the min or the max.

[Error fixed - I had "Scott Buchanan" originally. Thank you, Merlin Jetton, for catching that.]