%0 Journal Article
%T The impartiality of Smith¡¯s spectator: The problem of parochialism and the possibility of social critique
%A David Golemboski
%J European Journal of Political Theory
%@ 1741-2730
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/1474885115572921
%X Amartya Sen has argued that contractarian theories of justice inevitably fall victim to the problem of parochialism, for the reason that they rely on a problematically narrow conception of impartiality. Sen finds a corrective model of impartiality in Adam Smith¡¯s figure of the impartial spectator. In this essay, I argue that Sen¡¯s invocation of the spectator to resolve the problem of parochialism is unfounded, as the impartial spectator is fundamentally a product of socialization that serves to propagate conventional moral norms. I consider various interpretive avenues for ¡°rescuing¡± the spectator from parochialism, and ultimately conclude that a minor amendment to Smith¡¯s account, resting on the possibility of a conscience informed by moral pluralism, is required
%K Adam Smith
%K impartial spectator
%K impartiality
%K parochialism
%K Amartya Sen
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1474885115572921