Nozick, Autonomy and Compensation

Famously and notoriously, Robert Nozick argues against the welfare state in Anarchy, State and Utopia. While many academics have severely criticized Nozick's notion of a minimal state, neo-conservatives and many ordinary citizens remain convinced by his arguments for limited government. Much has been made of Nozick's critique of the welfare state, yet few philosophers have examined his views on compensation and a meaningful life. Following a brief review of different notions of rights and freedoms, Dale Murray closely examines what Nozick means by freedom and compensation. With respect to freedom, Murray argues that Noxickian freedom is more plausibly understood as 'freedom as autonomy' as opposed to 'freedom to do what one wills. 'With respect to compensation, Murray investigates what sorts of injustices Nozick thinks should be rectified and to what extent they should be rectified. Murray then offers a novel reconstruction of Nozick's libertarianism in the light of this analysis - as a possible approach to pursuing a meaningful life via positive rights. The book also explores Nozick's unique understanding of risk and his assessment of how we can calculate it. Using health care as a test case, Murray argues that since government-funded projects have tended to worsen people's health, the state should compensate individuals for their ill health. This compensation should come in the form of providing a minimal amount of health care to citizens. Such welfare rights, however, are not as strong as some universal health care advocates would expect. Book jacket.