The history of the DASP (now extinct) and of the civil service reform in the 1930s shows that as a matter of fact the supposed merit system lacked strength. That is, a large share of the civil servants kept being selected by means of favoritism. Afterwards, in the years up to 1988, favoritism...

To shape or to choose an appropriate regime of civil service is an old problem. The modern State in the West adopted two regimes in its first experience, the sale of public offices and favoritism. History and situational-strategic analysis derive lessons from that experience. In the first...

This essay argues that Adam Smith's thought should be interpreted within the intellectual context of the Scottish enlightenment. It discusses the origins and the specific nature of the enlightenment in Scotland in order to highlight the differences between the social theory of the Scottish...