The partial spectator in the Wealth of Nations: A robust utilitarianism

Abstract

Abstract The partial spectator provides an important component of Wealth of Nations akin to the public choice theory of rational ignorance. Berkeley's Theory of Vision, which gives an account of how individuals learn to perceive physical distance, provides vital background to Smith's theory of how individuals learn to perceive other sorts of distance. The partial spectator motivates a norm where judgment hinges on the imputed well‐being of the median individual of society, not the mean of classical utilitarianism. The focus on the median individual allows Smith to answer the question of what constrains the judgments of spectators to accord with the facts of common morality.