“If the world were wholly just”: Nozick and the limits of libertarian utopia

Authors

  • Felipe Schwember
  • Daniel Loewe

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/rep.182.02

Keywords:

Nozick, corrective justice, utopia, libertarianism, coercion.

Abstract

While liberalism is usually conceived as a political theory contrary to Utopia, in one of its versions developed during the twentieth century, we can see the rise of a liberal Utopia, whether it be the formulation of normative theories which express the idea of non-coercion or the outlining and defense of a political community where universal tolerance reigns supreme. This article will focus on the version of this double Utopia developed by Robert Nozick in his arguments favoring a minimal State. We sustain that —regarding the first aspect— his entitlement theory springs from idealizations which, when applied, lead to certain juridical aporias that reclaim a minimal State. And, regarding the second aspect, we sustain that the meta-Utopia described by Nozick would not lead to the blossoming of different micro-Utopias but rather to an ever-more entrenched hegemony of capitalist communities, a hegemony which would result in the colonization or dissolution of non-capitalist communities and, ultimately, in the minimal State in crisis. 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

How to Cite

Schwember, F., & Loewe, D. (2018). “If the world were wholly just”: Nozick and the limits of libertarian utopia. Revista De Estudios Políticos, (182), 43–69. https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/rep.182.02

Similar Articles

1 2 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.