F.H. Buckley
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Francis "Frank" Herbert Buckley is a foundation professor at
George Mason University School of Law The Antonin Scalia Law School is the law school of George Mason University, Virginia's largest public research university. It is located in Arlington, Virginia, roughly west of Washington, D.C., and east-northeast of George Mason University's ...
where he has taught since 1989. Before then he was a visiting Olin fellow at the
University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...
. He has also taught at Panthéon-Assas University,
Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...
in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and the McGill Faculty of Law in Montreal. He practiced law for three years in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. He has written on issues including
constitutional government A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...
, the
rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...
,
laughter Laughter is a pleasant physical reaction and emotion consisting usually of rhythmical, usually audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or internal stimuli. Laug ...
and
contract theory From a legal point of view, a contract is an institutional arrangement for the way in which resources flow, which defines the various relationships between the parties to a transaction or limits the rights and obligations of the parties. From an ...
, and the rise of Trump. He is a frequent contributor to ''
The American Spectator ''The American Spectator'' is a conservative American magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation. It was founded in 1967 by Tyrrell (the current editor-in ...
'' and other magazines and newspapers.


Early life and education

Buckley was born in 1948 in
Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
,
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
, Canada. He attended St. Joseph's College, a boarding school in
Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about north-west of Winnipeg and south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. Yorkton was founded in 1882 and incorporated as a city in 1928. ...
, Saskatchewan, from which he graduated in 1965. Buckley graduated with a B.A. (Hons.) from
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
in Montreal in 1969. He subsequently studied at the McGill Faculty of Law, where he served as editor in chief of the ''
McGill Law Journal The ''McGill Law Journal'' is a student-run legal publication at McGill University Faculty of Law in Montreal. It is a not-for-profit corporation independent of the Faculty and it is managed exclusively by students. The ''Journal'' also publishes t ...
'' (vol. 20). He received an
LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
from McGill in 1974, and an LL.M. from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
in 1975, with a thesis on shareholder ratification in
corporate law Corporate law (also known as company law or enterprise law) is the body of law governing the rights, relations, and conduct of persons, companies, organizations and businesses. The term refers to the legal practice of law relating to corpora ...
.


Academic career

After graduating from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
, Buckley worked at a Toronto law firm as an articling student, and from 1976 to 1977 was an assistant professor at the
University of Ottawa Faculty of Law The University of Ottawa Faculty of Law () is the law school at the University of Ottawa, located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1953, the faculty is today divided into Civil Law and Common Law sections, the two formally recognized l ...
. From 1977 to 1982 he was an assistant, then an associate professor at the McGill Faculty of Law. Over 1982 to 1984 he worked as a lawyer in Toronto, and from 1984 to 1989 was an associate professor at the McGill Faculty of Law. Over 1988 and 1989, on leave from McGill, he was a visiting Olin fellow at the
University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...
. He joined the George Mason School of Law as a professor in 1989, and subsequently was appointed a foundation professor at George Mason. From 1999 to 2010 he was the executive director of the George Mason Law & Economics Center, which offered educational programs for judges. While at George Mason, he served twice as a visiting fellow and lecturer at the Sorbonne (Paris II), and also once at Sciences Po in Paris.


Writings and views

Buckley has published in the ''
Journal of Legal Studies ''The Journal of Legal Studies'' is a law journal published by the University of Chicago Press focusing on interdisciplinary academic research in law and legal institutions. It emphasizes social science approaches, especially those of economics, ...
'', the ''
Virginia Law Review The ''Virginia Law Review'' is a law review edited and published by students at University of Virginia School of Law. It was established on March 15, 1913, and permanently organized later that year. The stated objective of the ''Virginia Law Revi ...
'', the ''
Cornell Law Journal The ''Cornell Law Review'' is the flagship legal journal of Cornell Law School. Originally published in 1915 as the ''Cornell Law Quarterly'', the journal features scholarship in all fields of law. Notably, past issues of the ''Cornell Law Revi ...
'', the ''
International Review of Law and Economics The ''International Review of Law and Economics'' is an academic journal covering the intersection of law and economics. It was established in 1981 by Butterworths and is currently published by Elsevier. The editors-in-chief are Emanuela Carbonara ...
'', the ''
UCLA Law Review The ''UCLA Law Review'' is a bimonthly law review established in 1953 and published by students of the UCLA School of Law, where it also sponsors an annual symposium. Originally, UCLA Law proposed in 1950 that either Berkeley and UCLA should p ...
'', the ''
University of Toronto Law Journal The ''University of Toronto Law Journal'' is a law review published by University of Toronto Press. It was established in 1935 by William Paul McClure Kennedy. History The journal was established in 1935 "under the insistent prompting of Dean W. ...
'', and many other law reviews. Buckley is a senior editor of ''
The American Spectator ''The American Spectator'' is a conservative American magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation. It was founded in 1967 by Tyrrell (the current editor-in ...
'', and has also published in ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', the ''
National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.
'', ''
The Dorchester Review ''The Dorchester Review'', founded in 2011, is a semi-annual journal of history and historical commentary that describes itself as a non-partisan but "robustly polemical" outlet for "elements of tradition and culture inherent to Canadian experi ...
'', and the ''
New Criterion ''The New Criterion'' is a New York City, New York–based monthly literary magazine and journal of artistic and cultural criticism, edited by Roger Kimball (editor and publisher) and James Panero (executive editor). It has sections for criticis ...
'', and has frequently been a guest on
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
,
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
, and other talk programs. He has written on a variety of subjects, including bike lanes, the films of
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
,
James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist, and playwright. He was best known for his gag cartoon, cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' an ...
, and Canadian politics. *Constitutional government: Buckley's ''The Once and Future King: The Rise of Crown Government in America'' was published by Encounter Books in April 2014. The book argues that the Framers, at their Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, sought to give America something closer to Congressional (or parliamentary) than presidential government, and that the former is a superior form of government. Buckley argues that America has now moved to a form of strong presidential government. *Rule of law: Buckley edited ''The American Illness: Essays on the Rule of Law'' (Yale U.P., 2013), to which he contributed three chapters. He suggests that "America's lowered rankings among multinational corporation CEOs as a place to do business is due to a hubris that doesn't consider America's inevitable relative decline in a globalized market." *Laughter: Buckley's ''The Morality of Laughter'' (U. Michigan P., 2003), argues for a superiority theory of laughter, in which there is always a butt to our laughter whose faults it seeks to correct. A review in the Wall Street Journal stated that Buckley "is clearly a witty man, and wit, as he shows, redeems a great deal. ''The Morality of Laughter'' is a serious contribution to social and moral philosophy masquerading as an entertaining anatomy of an underappreciated human resource." *Transportation: In 2013 Buckley wrote a column in ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' opposing bike lanes on King Street in Alexandria, Virginia. Despite this, the lanes were approved by a unanimous City Council vote. In 2014, he characterized his neighbors who supported the bike lanes as " Vichyite collaborators". In 2016, he characterized federal funding for
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...
and
pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the '' sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British En ...
improvements as worse ("the muck goes deeper, however") than government lobbyists. *Contract theory and free bargaining: Buckley's ''Fair Governance: Paternalism and Perfectionism'' was published by Oxford U.P. in 2009. In it he discusses arguments for and against paternalism (restrictions on the legal capacity to bargain) and perfectionism (the enforcement of morals). Buckley's ''Just Exchange: A Theory of Contract'' (Routledge, 2005) "fills a prominent hole in the literature, explaining economic terms and jargon with welcome clarity". ''The Fall and Rise of Freedom of Contract'' (Duke U.P., 1999), which Buckley edited, describes how free contracting, under attack during much of the 20th century, has revived with the assistance of the law-and-economics movement. "These original papers by some of the most distinguished North American law-and-economics scholars make a strong case for the virtues of contractarianism across a wide spectrum of legal specialties, including contract law, tort law, family law, bankruptcy, and private international law." When teaching in Canada, Buckley co-authored casebooks on ''Sales and Sales Financing and Corporations: Principles and Policies''. *The rise of Trump: Buckley published ''The Republican Workers Party: How the Trump Victory Drove Everyone Crazy, and Why It Was Just What We Needed'' (Encounter Books, 2018). He describes the birth of a new Republican Party.
Jonah Goldberg Jonah Jacob Goldberg (born March 21, 1969) is an American conservative journalist, author, and political commentator. The founding editor of ''National Review Online'', from 1998 until 2019, he was an editor at ''National Review''. Goldberg writ ...
describes the GOP today as no longer driven by ideology but is rather a coalition. This change, from an ideological party to a political coalition is what Buckley explains. He refers to a work created by the Voter Study Group in 2017, "Political Divisions in 2016 and Beyond: Tensions Between and Within the Two Parties", to explain this new coalition.


Speeches

Buckley and his wife Esther Goldberg wrote candidate
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's major foreign policy speech delivered at the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. It is one of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the ...
(AIPAC) convention on March 21, 2016. He was also a contributing speechwriter to Donald Trump Jr's July 19 address to the 2016 Republican National Convention, and defended Trump against accusations of having misappropriated phrases from Buckley's published work.


Controversy

In May 2022, Buckley came under criticism for a tweet in which he referred to Supreme Court Justice
Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...
as a "stupid Latina". He apologized the next day and deleted his twitter account.


Personal life

Buckley lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife, Esther Goldberg. They have one daughter. According to ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'', he is unrelated to conservative author
William F. Buckley Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American conservative writer, public intellectual, political commentator and novelist. Born in New York City, Buckley spoke Spanish as his ...


Publications

*(1995) ''Corporations: Principles and policies'' *(2003) ''The Morality of Laughter'' *(2004) ''Just Exchange: A Theory of Contract (The Economics of Legal Relationships)'' *(2009) ''Fair Governance: Paternalism and Perfectionism'' *(2015) ''The Once and Future King: The Rise of Crown Government in America'' *(2017) ''The Republic of Virtue: How We Tried to Ban Corruption, Failed, and What We Can Do About It'' *(2017) ''The Way Back: Restoring the Promise of America'' *(2018) ''The Republican Workers Party: How the Trump Victory Drove Everyone Crazy, and Why It Was Just What We Needed'' *(2020) ''American Secession: The Looming Threat of a National Breakup'' *(2021) ''Curiosity: And Its Twelve Rules for Life'' *(2022) ''Progressive Conservatism: How Republicans Will Become America's Natural Governing Party''


References


External links

*
GMU Law profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley, F.H. Living people 1948 births American essayists People from Saskatoon Antonin Scalia Law School faculty Harvard Law School alumni McGill University Faculty of Law alumni Academic staff of McGill University McGill Law Journal editors