Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
Adam Smith’s blind spot?
Alternative Title: Review of Chapter 10 of Law and the Invisible Hand Nine chapters down (1-9); three to go (10-12). Among other things, the antepenultimate chapter (Ch. 10) of Robin Paul Malloy’s Law and the Invisible Hand identifies an enormous … Continue reading
Adam Smith’s impartial spectator: equity, efficiency, or justice?
Alternative Title: Review of Chapter 9 of Law and the Invisible Hand If you are a legal theory geek like myself, then Chapter 9 of Robin Paul Malloy’s Law and the Invisible Hand is a really fun chapter to read. … Continue reading
A more “Smithian” theory of justice: refocusing the gaze of Adam Smith’s impartial spectator
Alternative title: Review of Chapters 6-8 of Law and the Invisible Hand Chapters 6, 7, and 8, the three most important chapters of Law and the Invisible Hand, should be read as a whole. Briefly, although these chapters, especially Ch. … Continue reading
Is stare decisis dead?
Originally posted on prior probability:
SCOTUS overruled another venerable precedent this week. (Will Roe v. Wade be the next to go?) The case is South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., a decision we hope is quickly overruled by Congress. Due to…
“Adam Smith’s theory of justice”: conjectures and refutations
Alternative title: Review of Chapter 5 of Law and the Invisible Hand Chapter 5 of Law and the Invisible Hand is the most speculative chapter in Robin Paul Malloy’s new book–and also the most original and creative one. In summary, … Continue reading
Markets, metaphors, and morality (part 3)
Robin Paul Malloy identifies and describes “three pillars of civil society” (p. 5) in Chapter 4 of Law and the Invisible Hand, three key concepts that appear in various parts of the work of Adam Smith: utility, authority, and justice. … Continue reading
Metaphors, markets, and morality (part 2): some questions about Adam Smith’s impartial spectator
Before I proceed with my review of the remaining chapters of Robin Paul Malloy’s Law and the Invisible Hand (Chs. 4-12), I want to pose a few additional questions about Adam Smith’s impartial spectator, one of the most compelling and … Continue reading
Metaphors, markets, and morality: review of Chapter 3 of Law and the Invisible Hand
Robin Paul Malloy makes two key moves in Chapter 3 of his new book Law and the Invisible Hand. First, he describes three of the most memorable, compelling, and complex metaphors in the writings of Adam Smith: the invisible hand, … Continue reading
June 21, 1788
To celebrate the day the Constitution of the United States officially became the law of the land–i.e., June 21, 1788, the day on which our nation’s charter was ratified by the requisite number of States–, below is a chronological listing … Continue reading
Review of Chapters 1 & 2 of Malloy’s Law and the Invisible Hand: Does Adam Smith have a theory of justice?
As I mentioned in a previous post, I have decided to review Robin Paul Malloy’s Law and the Invisible Hand. (Note and full disclosure: I was going to review Better Call Saul and Philosophy, a collection of essays published last … Continue reading

