Anarchy, State, and Utopia

Anarchy, State, and Utopia

by Robert Nozick
Anarchy, State, and Utopia

Anarchy, State, and Utopia

by Robert Nozick

Paperback(Second Edition)

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Overview

The foundational text of libertarian thought, named one of the 100 Most Influential Books since World War II (Times Literary Supplement)

First published in response to John Rawls' A Theory of Justice, Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia has since become one of the defining texts in classic libertarian thought. Challenging and ultimately rejecting liberal, socialist, and conservative agendas, Nozick boldly asserts that the rights of individuals are violated as a state's responsibilities increase—and the only way to avoid these violations rests in the creation of a minimalist state limited to protection against force, fraud, theft, and the enforcement of contracts.

Winner of the 1975 National Book Award, Anarchy, State and Utopia remains one of the most philosophically rich defenses of economic liberalism to date. With a new foreword by Thomas Nagel, this revised edition introduces Nozick and his work to a new generation of readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780465051007
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication date: 11/12/2013
Edition description: Second Edition
Pages: 400
Sales rank: 83,316
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile: 1390L (what's this?)
Age Range: 13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Robert Nozick (1938-2002) was the Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University. The author of numerous books including The Examined Life and Philosophical Explanations, Nozick was the recipient of the National Book Award for Anarchy, State, and Utopia.

Table of Contents

Foreword Thomas Nagel xi

Preface xix

Acknowledgments xxv

Part I State-of Nature Theory, or How to Back into a State without Really Trying

1 Why State-of-Nature Theory? 3

Political Philosophy 4

Explanatory Political Theory 6

2 The State of Nature 10

Protective Associations 12

The Dominant Protective Association 15

Invisible-Hand Explanations 18

Is the Dominant Protective Association A State? 22

3 Moral Constraints and the State 26

The Minimal State and the Ultraminimal State 26

Moral Constraints and Moral Goals 28

Why Side Constraints/ 30

Libertarian Constraints 33

Constraints and Animals 35

The Experience Machine 42

Underdetermination of Moral Theory 45

What Are Constraints Based Upon? 48

The Individualist Anarchist 51

4 Prohibition, Compensation, and Risk 54

Independents and the Dominant Protective Agency 54

Prohibition and Compensation 57

Why Ever Prohibit' 58

Retributive and Deterrence Theories of Punishment 59

Dividing the Benefits of Exchange 63

Fear and Prohibition 65

Why Not Always Prohibit? 71

Risk 73

The Principle of Compensation 78

Productive Exchange 84

5 The State 88

Prohibiting Private Enforcement of Justice 88

"The Principle of Fairness" 90

Procedural Rights 96

How May the Dominant Agency Act' 101

The De Facto Monopoly 108

Protecting Others 110

The State 113

The Invisible-Hand Explanation of the State 118

6 Further Considerations on the Argument for the State 120

Stopping the Process? 120

Preemptive Attack 126

Behavior in the Process 130

Legitimacy 133

The Right of All to Punish 137

Preventive Restraint 142

Part II Beyond the Minimal State?

7 Distributive Justice 149

Section I 150

The Entitlement Theory 150

Historical Principles and End-Result Principles 153

Patterning 155

How Liberty Upsets Patterns 160

Sen's Argument 164

Redistribution and Property Rights 167

Locke's Theory of Acquisition 174

The Proviso 178

Section II 183

Rawls' Theory 183

Social Cooperation 183

Terms of Cooperation and the Difference Principle 189

The Original Position and End-Result Principles 198

Macro and Micro 204

Natural Assets and Arbitrariness 213

The Positive Argument 216

The Negative Argument 224

Collective Assets 228

8 Equality, Envy, Exploitation, Etc. 232

Equality 232

Equality of Opportunity 235

Self-Esteem and Envy 239

Meaningful Work 246

Workers' Control 250

Marxian Exploitation 253

Voluntary Exchange 262

Philanthropy 265

Having a Say Over What Affects You 268

The Nonneutral State 271

How Redistribution Operates 274

9 Demoktesis 276

Consistency and Parallel Examples 277

The More-Than-Minimal State Derived 280

Hypothetical Histories 292

Part III Utopia

10 A Framework for Utopia 297

The Model 297

The Model Projected Onto Our World 307

The Framework 309

Design Devices and Filter Devices 312

The Framework as Utopian Common Ground 317

Community and Nation 320

Communities Which Change 323

Total Communities 325

Utopian Means and Ends 326

How Utopia Works Out 331

Utopia and the Minimal State 333

Notes 335

Bibliography 355

Index 361

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