A well-educated man, Robert Nozick, was a prominent American philosopher throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Nozick acquired a bachelor’s degree and his PhD in philosophy from Columbia and Princeton University, which inspired him to create a dissertation on decision theory (Duignan). Decision theory, in general, analyzes the statistical probability of a certain outcome occurring in order to discover the best strategy to decide between different options based on their predicted risks and outcomes.
Nozick, like many of his high school classmates in Brooklyn, had become an ardent socialist during his early teens, an enthusiasm that continued at Columbia. During his graduate school years, however, he had begun reexamining his political beliefs as he focused on political philosophy and the works of John Locke and Immanuel Kant. Moving toward the middle of the political spectrum, Nozick now questioned the most basic tenets of socialism: that human labor was the only source of value, that capitalism should be rejected because it exploited and profited from that labor, and that the state should control the means of production and allocate its resources (Keene). Nozick continued to question and explore the views of John Locke and developed his individual stance on society and the general citizen’s rights and freedoms.
Nozick struggled with the issues of “human economic and social freedom and its political ramifications” and had come to believe in libertarianism, which is the “belief that the state exists only to protect its citizens from harm and should not otherwise interfere with human activity” (Keene). This libertarian view positions the role of the government to protect citizens only when their rights are violated. He believed that everyone encompasses the natural rights to life, liberty, and property, however he supported that “everyone also has the natural right to punish those who violate or attempt to violate one’s own natural rights” (Duignan). His view supported very minimal government to its most definite form.
Popularly known as the "night watchman" state, a libertarian form of government intervenes only when a person's natural rights--summed up as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" in the American Declaration of Independence--are violated (Duignan). He argued that “respect for individual rights is the key standard for assessing state action and, hence, that the only legitimate state is a minimal state that restricts its activities to the protection of the rights of life, liberty, property, and contract” (Robert Nozick's Political Philosophy). These arguments prove that his views are anarchic. Nozick wishes the individuals in our society could live their lives without being interfered by government.
“Anarchy, State, and Utopia” (1974)
Nozick's book Anarchy, State and Utopia was published in 1974. As stated above, Nozick was a firm believer that the state only exists to protect the citizens and should not govern any further than that. The purpose of his book was to “to show that the minimal state, and only the minimal state, is morally justified” (Duignan). This argument is for a minimal state and his book further solidifies his view arguing that a state should be "limited to the narrow functions of protection against force, theft, fraud, enforcement of contracts, and so on” (Anarchy, State, and Utopia Wiki). This perspective is anarchic by definition, from the desire for the least amount of government needed for society to function. Nozick was not an anarchist in the most extreme way, as he supported a government that had minimal involvement versus no government at all.
Nozick is passionate about this topic as he believes that when states govern more completely than to just service these goals, citizens' rights are violated. In his book, Nozick “presents an argument that illustrates how the minimalist state arises naturally from anarchy and how any expansion of state power past this minimalist threshold is unjustified" (Anarchy, State, and Utopia Wiki). Anarchy, State, and Utopia was named one of the "100 most influential books since the war" (1945–1995) by the U.K. Times Literary Supplement" (Anarchy, State, and Utopia Wiki). His book reaches out to a lot of people and encourages readers to form their own opinions about the government and its role in our society being justified or unjustified.
"Anarchy, State, and Utopia." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchy,_State,_and_Utopia >.
Duignan, Brian. "Robert Nozick." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. <http://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Nozick >.
Keene, Ann T. "American National Biography Online: Nozick, Robert."American National Biography Online: Nozick, Robert. Oxford University Press, Feb. 2000. Web. <http://www.anb.org/articles/08/08-02380.html >.
"Robert Nozick's Political Philosophy." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University Library, 22 June 2014. Web. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nozick-political/#MinStaVerIndAna >.
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