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Title: Anarchy, State and Utopia by Robert Nozick ISBN: 0-465-09720-0 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: October, 1977 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.81 (26 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: If you have any interest in pol. philosophy, this is a MUST
Comment: If you have any interest in political philosophy at all, if you are worried about the erosion of individual liberty (and its companion, individual responsibility) in modern society, or (even) if you are a collectivist and actually promote government involvement in our individual lives for the "greater good" at the expense of some or all, you MUST read this book. It is a somewhat difficult book to digest, so others (political moderates or those apathetic with regard to political philosophy) need not even crack the cover.
If you find that you agree with the arguments and conclusions of Robert Nozick, you will be enriched with ammunition for debating political philosophy. If you DON'T agree and you believe that your disagreement is based upon sound philosophy, you will still be greatly rewarded - if for no other reason than you were required to expend some great effort to refute the presented material as you read it.
The major principles presented and defended by Mr. Nozick are as follows:
1) Anarchy is not tenable. 2) A "minimal state" or "nightwatchman state" that only protects the rights of its constituents is justified/legitimate. 3) any state beyond that "minimal state" is unjustified/illegitimate because it will inherently violate the rights of (at least) some of its constituents.
Beyond these major principles, Mr. Nozick also revisits the concept of Utopia in the last section of the text. I found this last section very enjoyable. Mr. Nozick's presentation of the concept of "Meta-Utopia" opened up whole new avenues of political thought for me.
I agree with the major principles of this work as I have stated them above; however, I found that I did not agree with everything presented. I enjoyed the mental exercise required to think through many of the presented topics. I was very pleased to realize the existence of this book and to read it.
Not that it has any bearing on the significance of the presented material, I did find the book to be quite difficult to read. Similar to what many critics and reviewers of this book have stated before, I found the organization of the presented material lacking and the absence of concise summaries of major topics disappointing. I found myself wishing that this were not the case - so that I might glean more benefit from the reading of the book. Also, Mr. Nozick seems too quick to prolifically digress into tangent discussions. Although the topics of these tangent discussions are quite interesting, it is my opinion that, coupled with the organization problem already mentioned, the frequency and magnitude of these discussions detracts from the persuasiveness of the book.
Even with the shortcomings, I feel some great deal of enlightenment and joy after reading this book. Mr. Nozick obviously respects and attempts to understand opposing views to the degree that he is willing to examine them with great scrutiny and then, aptly, present his arguments against them. Since I read books like this one to help me seek answers to philosophical political and otherwise) questions, I found it refreshing that an author would approach (or at least, attempt to approach) such arguments so objectively.
As I said at the beginning of this review, anyone with an interest in political philosophy will find the reading of this book to be time and thought well spent.
Rating: 3
Summary: Interesting But Limited
Comment: This book is regarded often as the definitive defense of libertarianism. If so, then libertarianism is in trouble as this work is quite interesting but hardly provides knockout arguments in favor of libertarianism. Nozick's point of departure is a Lockean state of nature and he assumes a Lockean view of rights with accords a good deal of weight to property rights. The book is divided into 3 sections; Anarchy, State, and Utopia. In Anarchy, Nozick attacks anarchist thought and demonstrates that some form of state is necessary to safeguard rights. In the State section, he extends his argument to argue that only a minimal state is justified; a more expansive state encroaches on essential liberties. The utopia section is quite interesting and makes the fundamental point that utopia would have to be a plurality of utopias to accomodate the plurality of human conceptions of ultimate good. As is often the case, the critical aspects of this book are better than its constructive elements. Nozick provides an excellent critique of anarchism and provides some useful though not fatal criticism of individuals like John Rawls who espouse a more expansive view of the state. Many sections contain ingenious arguments though there are a fair number of diversions from the main issues.
Nozick's arguments, however, suffer from at least 2 fundamental flaws. His attempt to demonstrate that only a minimal state is justified is incomplete and ignores basic features of human nature.
1) Incompleteness - Nozick's vindication of the minimal state rests squarely on his assumption of a Lockean scheme of rights. He is clear that this is an assumption and makes no effort to defend his choice of this set of assumptions. By assuming a different conception of rights, we would arrive at a different view of the state. With more emphasis on social and/or economic equality, we would arrive at a more expansive state. In order to present a definitive argument for the libertarian state, Nozick would have to present a convincing jusification of his choice of fundamental rights. Since he does not, his argument is not convincing.
2) Ignorance of Human Nature - Nozick's scheme tolerates inequalities, indeed, the minimal state is likely to generate huge inequalities. This is not hypothetical but a matter of historic fact. The closest we have ever come to such a state was Gilded Age America with its enormous class and economic differences. The temptation for the powerful to exploit their advantages is irresistable. The inevitable result is both economic and political domination by the powerful with consequent erosion of the basic rights of the less powerful. The resulting abuses of power result in political and social institutions that attack the basic rights, including property rights, of the less privileged. Further, as Tacitus wrote, "it is human nature to despise those you have injured." One of the consequences of domination is the development of ideologies justifying domination. Looking again at American history for an example, we can see the development of a variety of proslavery doctrines arising in the antebellum South as illustrating this tendency. In a so-called minimal state dominated by the powerful, ideologies would arise that would attack and very likely ultimately vanquish the official doctrine of libertarianism. Nozick's scheme carries with it the seed of its own destruction. I worked out this critique for myself, only to discover subsequently that Nozick himself arrived at similar conclusions and no longer espouses libertarianism.
Rating: 3
Summary: very overrated.
Comment: _Anarchy, State, and Utopia_ is considered a libertarian classic, but while it is interesting to read, its value is somewhat marginalized by lack of substance. This is no treatise with consistent methodology -- it's mostly a collection of thought experiments and fanciful ideas. The book is basically comprised of Nozick's hypothetical situations and his timid examinations of them. "Property rights" seem important to Nozick's way of thinking, but he never presents what rights are in any systematic way. The book doesn't "build," it just skirts from one idea to the next without ever reaching satisfying conclusions. Because of this, he faces considerable difficulties and reaches weak conclusions. Why is it so highly regarded? I'm not entirely sure, but I would guess that this book's popularity is due in part to its accessibility and easygoing approach. Yet, its importance has been far too overstated: some people deride scholars for not referring to Nozick's ostensible contributions to libertarian theory, and yet Nozick really contributes nothing to the hard core of libertarian philosophy. One of the most influential chapters in Part I is Nozick's thought experiment on the transformation of a stateless society to a minimal State that violates nobody's rights, but this process is so riddled with confusion and inconsistencies that it fails in practically every respect. The first issue of the Journal of Libertarian Studies was based on a symposium for _Anarchy, State, and Utopia_ and subjected Nozick's formation of the minimal State to withering criticism. That whole idea can no longer be considered meaningful. Part II of the book is pretty good though - it is polemical and offers some classic refutations of John Rawls' "veil of ignorance" and social contract establishing rights. (Rawls doesn't deserve the amount of attention Nozick gives him, however. The veil only applies to epistemological wraiths who float-around without bodies. By virtue of having bodies and exclusive control over them and being able to argue what is or what is not just, private property rights are established a priori, thus necessitating a comprehensive theory for those rights, not vacuous, arbitrary solutions proposed by Rawls). Far more important are writers like Murray Rothbard, Walter Block, N. Stephen Kinsella, and Hans-Hermann Hoppe. Anyone looking for a truly definitive, systematic libertarian treatise is encouraged to read Murray Rothbard's _real_ classic, _The Ethics of Liberty_. Is Nozick's book here worth reading? Yes, but keep in mind it's value has been highly overexaggerated.
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Title: A Theory of Justice (Belknap) by John Rawls ISBN: 0674000781 Publisher: Belknap Pr Pub. Date: September, 1999 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Justice as Fairness: A Restatement by John Rawls, Erin Kelly ISBN: 0674005112 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: May, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Political Liberalism by John Rawls ISBN: 0231052499 Publisher: Columbia University Press Pub. Date: 15 April, 1995 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
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Title: Liberalism and the Limits of Justice by Michael J. Sandel ISBN: 0521567416 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 28 March, 1998 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Robert Nozick: Property, Justice, and the Minimal State (Key Contemporary Thinkers) by Jonathan Wolff ISBN: 0804718563 Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr Pub. Date: April, 1991 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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