CRITIQUE OF NOZICK’S “ANARCHY, STATE AND UTOPIA

Abstract “Anarchy State and Utopia” deals with the idea of minimal state put forward by its author Robert Nozick. He attempts to work in the Lockean framework of natural rights and tries to devise the most legitimate form of state being one that merely protects the individuals against force, fraud, theft, etc. For Nozick, anything that exceeds these limits set by him will give rise to an unjust state. Nozick derives the principle of self-ownership from Kant based on which he proposes that each individual has the right to own his/her own labour. Therefore, imposition of any taxation beyond that required for the maintenance of the minimal state would be illegitimate. The researcher aims to analyse the concept of minimal state given by Robert Nozick. Further, the researcher deals with the views of Nozick on taxation as given in “Anarchy, State and Utopia” and analyses the response of several other writers on his conception of taxation.