In 1971, the academic world was awash with quotes from John Rawls’ “Theory of Justice.” Rawls’ book covered the philosophic basis for a bureaucratic welfare state which would redistribute wealth in order to help the disadvantaged.
In 1974, Harvard professor Robert Nozick’s book, “Anarchy, State, and Utopia” demolished Rawls’ ideas. Nozick argued that since the rights of the individual are primary, nothing more than a minimal state is justified. Nozick’s book won the National Book Award and was named one of the “Hundred Most Influential Books Since the War” by the New York Times.
Regretfully, on Jan. 23, Nozick, extolled by many as “a brilliant and provocative scholar,” died of stomach cancer at age 63.
Law professor Alan Dershowitz, longtime friend of Nozick, said Nozick “was a University professor in the best sense of the term. He was constantly rethinking his own views and sharing his new ideas with students and colleagues. His unique philosophy has influenced generations of readers and will continue to influence people for generations to come.”
What was this unique philosophy? In the opening sentence of “Anarchy, State and Utopia,” Nozick wrote, “individuals have rights, and there are things no person or group may do to them” (without violating their rights). According to Nozick, the state may not use its coercive apparatus for the purpose of getting some citizens to aid others, or in order to prohibit activities to people for their own good or protection. It would seem Nozick’s book is more timely today than ever, given ongoing debate over assaults on individual rights by newly adopted federal laws such as the Patriot Act.
Also included in “Anarchy, State and Utopia” are: an important new theory of distributive justice; a model of utopia which supports the theory of the minimal state; and the integration of ethics, legal philosophy and economic theory into a profound and unified position in political philosophy.
In the 1970s, Nozick’s challenging views put him in a firestorm of controversy, gaining him considerable attention and influence in the world beyond Harvard. “Anarchy, State, and Utopia” transformed him from a young philosophy professor, known only within his profession, to the reluctant theoretician of a national political movement exemplified by the Libertarian Party, today the third-largest political party in this country. Nozick’s book unwittingly boosted the party’s prestige in academic circles and increased public support for the party’s limited government position.
In his youth, Nozick was a member of the radical left who converted to a libertarian perspective as a graduate student after reading conservative economist Friedrich Hayek and libertarian economists Milton Friedman and Murray Rothbard.
Nozick used his teaching as a way of working out his ideas. With one exception, Nozick never taught the same course twice. Speaking without notes, Nozick would pace restlessly back and forth, drawing his students into a free-ranging discussion of the topic at hand. Nozick said, “Presenting a completely polished and worked-out view doesn’t give students a feel for what it’s like to do original work in philosophy and to see it happen, to catch on to doing it.” His importance and influence on students is unquestionable.