Nozick, Libertarianism, and Philosophy

What are the merits of Robert Nozick’s libertarian, small-government philosophy? Why did Nozick move away from libertarianism as his views on philosophy changed? And what was his vision for the future of analytic philosophy?

In this Aeon article, historian Brad Baranowski highlights two of Robert Nozick’s most important contributions to philosophy: first, his libertarianism; and then, his vision for what analytic philosophy could be—not as technical and obscurant. Nozick wrote perhaps his most famous book, Anarchy, State, and Utopia, in 1974 as a reply to Rawls’ 1971 classic, A Theory of Justice.

On the one hand, what are the merits of a libertarian, small-government way of looking at things? On the other, why did Nozick himself move away from libertarianism as his views on philosophy changed? Surely I am grateful that analytic philosophy is not as obsessed with logic as it used to be, but what are the downsides of this shift?

Read the article here:

https://aeon.co/ideas/how-robert-nozick-put-a-purple-prose-bomb-under-analytical-philosophy