Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Update (8/3): We are happy to report that the comments on Marginal Revolution are now back open! We interrupt our ongoing review of Anarchy, State, and Utopia to bring a matter of marginal significance (in the scheme of things) to … Continue reading →

As we mentioned at the end of our previous post, smack dab in the middle of one of the most original and mind-blowing thought experiments in the history of political philosophy, Nozick digresses to discuss Locke’s views on parental ownership … Continue reading →

You may have heard the slogan “corporations are people”; but what if people were corporations? The second subsection of Chapter 9 of ASU contains just such a mind-blowing thought experiment. In summary, Nozick borrows the Beckerian concept of “human capital” … Continue reading →

Recall from our previous post that Nozick has asked us to keep an open and uncontaminated mind in the opening subsection of Chapter 9. He will need us to keep an open mind because he is going to present an … Continue reading →

Nozick devotes the first subsection of Chapter 9 (pp. 277-279) to analogical reasoning and to what I like to call “the mental contamination problem.” According to Nozick, one of the problems with reasoning by analogy is our inability to keep … Continue reading →

Chapter 9 of Anarchy, State, and Utopia (ASU), the penultimate chapter of this classic book, is titled “Demoktesis.” Spoiler alert: according to Wikipedia, demoktesis is a thought-experiment designed to show the incompatibility of democracy (one-man, one-vote) with libertarian theory and … Continue reading →

During a bout of insomnia, we discovered a new genre of literature and storytelling called micro flash fiction. (Hat tip: @ESYudkowsky.) Below is a sample:

Nozick devotes the last three subsections of Chapter 8 (pp. 268-275) to two interwoven tasks: (1) reiterating his conception of a minimal state, and (2) responding to various justifications made in favor of a more extensive state. Recall that, for … Continue reading →

Nozick begins the eighth section of Chapter 8 of ASU (pp. 265-268) by making a strong case in favor of compulsory redistribution! (Yes, you heard that right. Again, I will summarize Nozick’s argument in my own words.) Let’s assume that … Continue reading →

Nozick takes a short detour in the seventh section of Chapter 8 of ASU (pp. 262-265), where he makes a conjecture about the structure of rights to engage in relationships with others. At one point, Nozick states (p. 264): “Rights … Continue reading →