In this classic work, award-winning philosopher Robert Nozick offers a “complex, sophisticated, and ingenious” (The Economist) defense of libertarianism
First published in response to John Rawls' A Theory of Justice, Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia has since become one of the defining texts in classic libertarian thought. Challenging and ultimately rejecting liberal, socialist, and conservative agendas, Nozick boldly asserts that the rights of individuals are violated as a state's responsibilities increase—and the only way to avoid these violations rests in the creation of a minimalist state limited to protection against force, fraud, theft, and the enforcement of contracts.
Winner of the 1975 National Book Award, Anarchy, State and Utopia remains one of the most philosophically rich defenses of economic liberalism to date. With a new foreword by Thomas Nagel, this revised edition introduces Nozick and his work to a new generation of readers.
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A
major event in contemporary political philosophy...[Nozick] is always
stimulating; an open-minded study of what he has to say could be a healthy
tonic for romantic leftists.
—
Peter Singer, New York Review of Books