However, it is important to note that Nozick holds to the fundamental principles despite his dismissal of Rawl’s distributive theory. Further Consicerations on the Argument for the State Part III. Moral Constraints and the State Chapter 6. Beyond the Minimal State Bibliography Chapter 3. Otherwise, the individuals will still retain some right of self-defending their libertarian rights. Prohibition, Compensation, and Risk Part II. For him, an action is just if it doesn’t violate another’s libertarian rights as opposed to Rawl’s theory of justice which is based on merits and moral obligations in determining what an individual is entitled to and what is fair in eyes of the ordinary man in the street.Īccording to Nozick the role of the minimal state is limited to safeguarding the libertarian rights of the individual citizens against theft, torture, and maiming. While on the one hand, Rawl understands justice based on distributive shares based on moral obligations, Nozick proposes a theory of justice based on libertarian rights enumerated above.
The libertarian rights according to Nozick are original absolute self-ownership, rights of a common use of the external world, rights of primary acquisition. Nozick’s theory of justice holds that an action is just if it does not violate other people’s libertarian rights. Valentyne argues that Nozick holds a libertarian theory of justice as opposed to Rawl’s distributive theory of justice (88).Despite his deviation from Rawl’s distributive theory of justice Nozick believes that sound adult humans have certain undeniable rights including a right to bodily honor which makes illegal murdering, persecuting, or hurting the holder of the right Valentyne (88).
So that in the long run, each member of the society gets what is entitled to him or her Rawl (275). It proposes the allocation of opportunities and wealth on the basis of merits and moral obligations. Distributive justice deals with fair allocation of resources on the basis of ethical and moral principles of the society (275). We began this chapters investigation of distributive justice in order to consider the claim that a. In chapter seven Nozick provides an articulate critique upon Rawl’s theory of distributive justice (150). Nozicks view, which challenges both Rawls theory and the Marxian position, will likely generate a vigorous and high-level debate among proponents of al. There is a renewed vigor in contemporary political philosophy. Robert Nozick’s Critique of Rawl’s Distributive Justice Rawls A Theory of Justice and Robert Nozicks Anarchy, State, and Utopia show that such speculation was mistaken. Nozick’s sense of state is that of a coercive organization that for a given territory has effectual domination on the use of weapons to enforce its will and interests Valentyne (87). Therefore, Nozick proposes the replacement of the present state with a minimal state which safeguards people only against violence, theft, fraud, and violation of contract Valentyne (86). According to Valentyne, Nozick holds that it is not possible to have a legitimate state especially one that enjoys absolute legitimacy (86). Among the many achievements of the work are an important new theory of distributive justice, a model of utopia, and an integration of ethics, legal philosophy and economic theory into a profound position in political philosophy which will be discussed for years to come.The state and its legitimacy are one of the main themes in Robert Nozick’s book. Any more extensive activities by the state, he demonstrates, will inevitably violate individual rights. The author argues that the state is justified only when it is severely limited to the narrow function of protection against force, theft and fraud and to the enforcement of contracts. Anarchy, State and Utopia combines the techniques and strategies of economic and philosophical analysis in the cause of libertarianism.
The work that follows is a sophisticated and passionate defence of the rights of the individual as opposed to the state. Individuals have rights, Nozick writes in his opening sentence, and there are things no person or group may do to them without violating their rights. Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia is a powerful, philosophical challenge to the most widely held political and social positions of our age - liberal, socialist and conservative.
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