Lecture 22: Equality II (PHIL 181)

Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature (PHIL 181)

Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia is presented as a counterpoint to Rawls' A Theory of Justice. In contrast to Rawls, who puts justice at the center of his theory, Nozick maintains that the primary notion should be rights or liberties. With that assumption in place, Nozick argues that a minimal state is the only just state, and that any state more extensive violates fundamental liberties. Professor Gendler proceeds to introduce and discuss the central elements of the seventh chapter of Anarchy, State, and Utopia: the notions of justice in acquisition, justice in transfer, and the Lockean Proviso. The lecture concludes with an examination of Nozick's well-known Wilt Chamberlain argument, by which he attempts to justify his claim that state-sponsored economic redistribution is unjust.