Anarchy, State, and Utopia

The publication in 1974 of Anarchy, State, and Utopia, a sophisticated defense of libertarian principles by the American philosopher Robert Nozick, marked the beginning of an intellectual revival of libertarianism. Libertarian ideas in economics became increasingly influential as libertarian economists, such as Alan Greenspan, were appointed to prominent advisory positions…

Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), by the American philosopher Robert Nozick (1938–2002), is an example of such a rights-based theory, though it is mostly concerned with applications in the political sphere and says very little about other areas of normative ethics. Unlike Rawls, who for…

During his high school and college years, Nozick was a member of the student New Left and an enthusiastic socialist. At Columbia he helped to found a campus branch of the League for Industrial Democracy, a precursor of the Students for…

…main work of political philosophy, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), to argue for a position that was markedly different from that of Rawls. According to Nozick, the minimal state (one whose functions are limited to protecting the natural rights to life, liberty, and property) is justified, because individuals living in…

…of the libertarian critique was Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), by the American philosopher Robert Nozick (1938–2002). Nozick also argued that a “minimal state,” one that limited its activities to the enforcement of people’s basic libertarian rights, could have arisen in a hypothetical “state of nature” through a process in…