After defending his entitlement theory of justice and engaging in intellectual combat with John Rawls in Chapter 7 of Anarchy, State, and Utopia (ASU), Nozick will explore other theories of equality in Chapter 8. But before we jump into this chapter, let’s take a look at its overall structure and organization. Chapter 8 is titled “Equality, Envy, Exploitation, Etc.” and poses the following practical and philosophical question: What, if anything, should we do about income inequality? The chapter is divided into eleven separate subsections as follows:
- Equality (pp. 232-235)
- Equality of opportunity (pp. 235-238)
- Self-esteem and envy (pp. 239-246)
- Meaningful work (pp. 246-250)
- Workers’ control (pp. 250-253)
- Marxian exploitation (pp. 253-262)
- Voluntary exchange (pp. 262-265)
- Philanthropy (pp. 265-268)
- Having a way over what affects you (pp. 268-271)
- The nonneutral state (pp. 271-274)
- How redistribution operates (pp. 274-275)
In our view, Chapter 8 is well worth reading or re-reading, as the case may be, for it is the most timely and relevant part of this book in this age of global markets and gross income inequality …
