In this brilliant and widely acclaimed book, winner of the 1975 National Book Award, Robert Nozick challenges the most commonly held political and social positions oaf our age--liberal, socialist, and conservative.

Robert Nozick：was the Joseph Pellegrino University Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University.

Preface

Acknowledgments

PART Ⅰ

 State-of-Nature Theory, or How to Back into a State without Really Trying

 1. Why State-of-Nature Theory?

POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

EXPLANATORY POLITICAL THEORY

 2. The State of Nature

PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATIONS

THE DOMINANT PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION

INVISIBLE-HAND EXPLANATIONS

IS THE DOMINANT PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION A STATE?

 3. Moral Constraints and the State

THE MINIMAL STATE AND THE ULTRAMINIMAL STATE

MORAL CONSTRAINTS AND MORAL GOALS

WHY SIDE CONSTRAINTS?

LIBERTARIAN CONSTRAINTS

CONSTRAINTS AND ANIMALS

THE EXPERIENCE MACHINE

UNDERDETERMINATION OF MORAL THEORY

WHAT ARE CONSTRAINTS BASED UPON?

THE INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHIST

 4. Prohibition, Compensation, and Risk

INDEPENDENTS AND THE DOMINANT PROTECTIVE AGENCY

PROHIBITION AND COMPENSATION

WHY EVER PROHIBIT.)

RETRIBUTIVE AND DETERRENCE THEORIES OF PUNISHMENT

DIVIDING THE BENEFITS OF EXCHANGE

FEAR AND PROHIBITION

WHY NOT ALWAYS PROHIBIT.)

RISK

THE PRINCIPLE OF COMPENSATION

PRODUCTIVE EXCHANGE

 5. The State

PROHIBITING PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT OF JUSTICE

"THE PRINCIPLE OF FAIRNESS"

PROCEDURAL RIGHTS

HOW MAY THE DOMINANT AGENCY ACT.)

THE DE FACTO MONOPOLY

PROTECTING OTHERS

THE STATE

THE INVISIBLE-HAND EXPLANATION OF THE STATE

 6. Further Considerations on the Argument for the State

STOPPING THE PROCESS.)

PREEMPTIVE ATTACK

BEHAVIOR IN THE PROCESS

LEGITIMACY

THE RIGHT OF ALL TO PUNISH

PREVENTIVE RESTRAINT

PART Ⅱ

 Beyond the Minimal State?

 7. Distributive Justice

SECTION I:

THE ENTITLEMENT THEORY

HISTORICAL PRINCIPLES AND END-RESULT PRINCIPLES

PATTERNING

HOW LIBERTY UPSETS PATTERNS

SEN'S ARGUMENT

REDISTRIBUTION AND PROPERTY RIGHTS

LOCKE'S THEORY OF ACQUISITION

THE PROVISO

SECTION II:

RAWLS' THEORY

SOCIAL COOPERATION

TERMS OF COOPERATION AND THE DIFFERENCE PRINCIPLE

THE ORIGINAL POSITION AND END-RESULT PRINCIPLES

MACRO AND MICRO

NATURAL ASSETS AND ARBITRARINESS

THE POSITIVE ARGUMENT

THE NEGATIVE ARGUMENT

COLLECTIVE ASSETS

 8. Equality, Envy, Exploitation, Etc.

EQUALITY

EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY

SELF-ESTEEM AND ENVY

MEANINGFUL WORK

WORKERS' CONTROL

MARXIAN EXPLOITATION

VOLUNTARY EXCHANGE

PHILANTHROPY

HAVING A SAY OVER WHAT AFFECTS YOU

THE NONNEUTRAL STATE

HOW REDISTRIBUTION OPERATES

 9. Demoktesis

CONSISTENCY AND PARALLEL EXAMPLES

THE MORE-THAN-MINIMAL STATE DERIVED

HYPOTHETICAL HISTORIES

PART Ⅲ

 Utopia

 10. A Framework for Utopia

THE MODEL

THE MODEL PROJECTED ONTO OUR WORLD

THE FRAMEWORK

DESIGN DEVICES AND FILTER DEVICES

THE FRAMEWORK AS UTOPIAN COMMON GROUND

COMMUNITY AND NATION

COMMUNITIES WHICH CHANGE

TOTAL COMMUNITIES

UTOPIAN MEANS AND ENDS

HOW UTOPIA WORKS OUT

UTOPIA AND THE MINIMAL STATE

Notes

Bibliography

Index