Robert Nozick’s Moral and Political Theory

". . . skillfully brings out the challenge of Nozick's thinking, as well as its limitations.” –Prof. William Outhwaite, Newcastle University

Foreword Darrow Schecter
Preface and Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Problematical Formation of Nozick's Concept of Morality
1.1 The Context and the Libertarian Background of Nozick's Philosophy
1.2 The Principle of Full Self-Ownership
1.3 The Principle of Moral Inviolability of Persons
1.4 Conclusion
Chapter 2: Nozick's Concept of Morality and the Question of Politics
2.1 The Implausibility of Nozick's Libertarianism: Absolute Private Property Rights and Equal Freedom in the State of Nature
2.2 Absolute Individual Rights as Side-Constraints: Nozick's Kantianism Versus Social and Public Good
2.3 The Problem of Political Obligation in Nozick's Theory: The Replacement of Politics with the Invisible Hand Mechanism
2.4 Conclusion
Chapter 3: The Minimal State
3.1 The Moral Problem of the Emergence of the Minimal State
3.2 The Problem of Neutrality
3.3 The Problem of Stability
3.4 Conclusion
Chapter 4: The Entitlement Theory of Justice, the Laissez-Faire Market and the Utopia
4.1 The Entitlement Theory of Justice as a Consequence of the Implausibility of Nozick's Libertarianism
4.2 Laissez-Faire Transactions and Libertarian Rights
4.3 The Framework for a Pluralist Utopia as a Framework for Libertarian Destruction
4.4 Conclusion
Chapter 5: After Anarchy State and Utopia: Politics and Ethics
5.1 The Abandonment of Libertarianism in Nozick's Later Philosophy: The Zig Zag of Politics
5.2 The Genealogy of Ethics
5.1 Why Read Nozick Today?
5.2 Conclusion
Concluding Remarks
Bibliography
Index