To Nozick, “the minimal state is the most extensive state justified” and if the state were to seek wider role than the narrow function of providing protection against force, theft, fraud and enforcement of contracts then it is violating individuals rights.Ĭentral to Nozick’s work is individuals’ rights which are evident from his audacious statement on the preface to his book that “individuals have rights and there are things no person or group may do to them (without violating their rights)”. He is not an anarchist but being influenced by the individualist-anarchist Murray Rothbard, proposes a form of radical individualism within a state structure. Nozick is an advocate for eighteenth century individualism and nineteenth century capitalism. The American political philosopher Robert Nozick, a libertarian liberal, best known for his first book Anarchy State and Utopia published in 1974. This article will shed light particularly on entitlement theory of justice, libertarian rights, individualism and the minimal state and evaluate them from a critical perspective. through taxing individuals and redistributing them. Nozick’s theories blatantly rejects the idea of any more extensive form of state such as those propagated by Rawls which calls for distributive justice i.e. In line with this course arguments, Nozick falls just short of supporting anarchy but the all-encompassing individualism that he propagates only allows for the existence of the minimal state which he regards as the only legitimate form of state which does not violate individual’s rights. In Nozick’s view, individual rights are all that matters and that there is nothing such as a society or community or collective well-being. Redistribution infringes individual’s rights which, according to Nozick, trumps all other considerations and subject matters. To Nozick, no distribution is just and there should not be redistribution at all. Nozick calls Rawls’ distribution theory a patterned theory. Robert Nozick in his famous book Anarchy, State and Utopia (1974) responded to, in part, John Rawls’ distribution theory as articulated in the latter’s celebrated book A Theory of Justice (1971) with the former’s entitlement theory.
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