Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
Monday medley: A Very Laufey Christmas
Shout out to my youngest daughter, Adys, for introducing me to Laufey’s music!
Christmas season update
I will begin a new series of blog posts in the next day or two. In the meantime, here is a compilation of my previous 12 posts on the political theories of Rousseau, Rawls, and Nozick:
Political philosophy as art
“We are all libertarians …” –Dr. Julia Maskivker Although Nozick’s valiant pincer movement against Rawls is vulnerable to counter-attack (as we saw in my previous post), Nozick is right about two things: (a) liberty matters, and (b) any attempt to … Continue reading
Nozick’s sandcastle
“Individuals have rights, and there are things no person or group may do to them (without violating their rights).” –Robert Nozick Thus far (see here and here), we have presented the first flank of Nozick’s powerful pincer attack on Rawls: … Continue reading
Nozick’s slam dunk: the Wilt Chamberlain argument
To pick up where I left off in my previous post: Robert Nozick’s “Wilt Chamberlain Argument” is a devastating takedown of the difference principle. To see why, recall Rawls’s main motivating rationale when he wrote A Theory of Justice, i.e. … Continue reading
Nozick’s takedown of Rawls’s difference principle
I concluded my previous post by stating without qualification that Nozick “totally demolished” Rawls’s difference principle, i.e. Rawls’s claim that social and economic inequalities are only just if they work to the advantage of the least-advantaged members of society. In … Continue reading
Rawls’s empty idea of equal liberty
In my previous two posts in this series, I explained why Rawls’s original position is just a dressed-up version of Rousseau’s general will in disguise (see here) and why Rawls’s approach to liberty is, at bottom, no different than Rousseau’s … Continue reading
Beware the tyranny of Rawlsian justice
In a previous post, I explained why Rawls’s original position is a dressed-up version of Rousseau’s general will in disguise (see here). Today, I will explain why Rawls’s approach to liberty is, at bottom, no different than Rousseau’s. First off, … Continue reading
Sunday song: Homage to *The Wire*
Three words: best show ever!
Beware of Rousseauian wolves in Rawlsian clothing
I concluded my previous post thus: “… Rawls and Rousseau are alike in two profound ways. One is that Rawls’s definition of liberty, deep down, is really no different than Rousseau’s. The other is that Rawls’s ‘original position’, in form … Continue reading

