Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol

As I mentioned earlier this month, my colleagues Daniel Klein, Nicholas Swanson, and Jeffrey Young (KSY) have published a new paper in Econ Journal Watch, and their paper caught my attention because it’s about the impartial spectator in Adam Smith’s … Continue reading →

One of Adam Smith’s most original ideas in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS) is the “impartial spectator”, but who (or what) is this perplexing and puzzling observer? Thus far, we have seen how the Scottish philosopher refers to this … Continue reading →

Correction (10/22): Based on the textual analysis of TMS in my 22 October blog post, I have to update my 21 October post below. To the point, I now see that Adam Smith is using the same set of metaphors … Continue reading →

One of Adam Smith’s most original — and mysterious — ideas in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS) is the impartial spectator. But who or what is this enigmatic entity? My interpretation is based on the actual text of Smith’s … Continue reading →

Last month (September 2025), my colleagues Daniel Klein, Nicholas Swanson, and Jeffrey Young (KSY) published a new paper on Adam Smith’s impartial spectator in the most recent issue of Econ Journal Watch. In summary, KSY claim that Smith’s imaginary spectator … Continue reading →

Nota bene: this is my last blog post (for now) on “the paradox of politics”. In my previous post, we saw James Madison’s ingenious solution to the problem of factions and the tyranny of public opinion: more factions, more opinions … Continue reading →

Nota bene: this is the eighth of a series of blog posts on “the paradox of politics”. “By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united … Continue reading →

Nota bene: this is the seventh of a series of blog posts on “the paradox of politics”. We saw in my previous post how David Hume replaces natural law and social contracts with public opinion, but is the Scottish skeptic … Continue reading →

Nota bene: this is the sixth of a series of blog posts on “the paradox of politics”; footnotes are below the fold. We saw David Hume’s devastating take-down of social contract theories in my previous post — governments and property … Continue reading →