Nozick

Robert Nozick (1938–2002) was an American philosopher and professor of philosophy at Harvard University, renowned for his defense of libertarianism and a minimal state. His most influential work, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), challenges distributive justice as defended by John Rawls and advances a rights-centered framework. Nozick develops the entitlement theory of justice, consisting of just acquisition, just transfer, and rectification of injustice. He argues that the legitimate function of the state is limited to protecting individuals from force, theft, and fraud, enforcing contracts, and operating courts, while rejecting attempts to achieve patterned or end-state distributions of goods.

A key feature of the book is the Wilt Chamberlain thought experiment, which demonstrates how voluntary transactions can lead to large inequalities without violating rights, thereby undermining end-state principles of justice. This argument supports a minimal state that arises not from appeals to social ideals but from the protection of individual rights and liberties.

Nozick's other major works include Philosophical Explanations (1981) and Skepticism and Freedom (1986), through which he develops a broadly naturalistic approach to explanations and a defense of epistemic and moral liberty. His writings have shaped contemporary political philosophy, influencing debates over property rights, state legitimacy, and the moral significance of self-ownership. Critics have questioned his rejection of distributive justice and his assumptions about rights and entitlement, arguing for stronger considerations of social obligation and ethical constraints on liberty.

Nozick’s work remains influential in philosophy, and his writings continue to be studied for their rigorous defense of individual rights and the scope of governmental power. He died in 2002.