Portrait of Robert Nozick
Right · Thinker or writer · From history

Robert Nozick

American philosopher, 1938 to 2002

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Answered Rawls in Anarchy, State, and Utopia with the case for a minimal state, arguing that taxing earnings resembles forced labor.

Robert Nozick sits in the right-libertarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: strongly free market and strongly libertarian. The clearest positions are strongly free market on economy, strongly libertarian on liberty and authority and leaning tech-optimist on technology. The profile is close to the middle on institutions.

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Where Robert Nozick sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomyStrongly free market
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly libertarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureSlightly progressive
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationSlightly globalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentSlightly growth-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyLeaning tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceSlightly peace-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsCentered on institutions
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionLeaning secular
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismLeaning non-interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like Robert Nozick

Milton Friedman American economist, 1912 to 200699%Ludwig von Mises Austrian economist, 1881 to 197399%Friedrich Hayek Austrian-British economist and philosopher, 1899 to 199298%Mario Vargas Llosa Peruvian novelist, 1936 to 202597%Adam Smith Scottish economist and philosopher, 1723 to 179097%John Locke English philosopher, 1632 to 170496%Tyler Cowen American economist and blogger96%Gary Johnson Governor of New Mexico, 1995 to 200395%

People furthest from Robert Nozick

Mojtaba Khamenei Supreme Leader of Iran, 2026 to present6%Ruhollah Khomeini Supreme Leader of Iran, 1979 to 19897%Louis XIV King of France, 1643 to 17157%Joseph Stalin Soviet leader, 1920s to 19537%

Political views closest to Robert Nozick

MinarchismLimits the state to a minimal "night-watchman" role of courts, police and defense.99%Austrian schoolAn economic tradition that stresses individual choice, sound money and skepticism about…99%Classical liberalismIndividual rights, limited government, free markets and the rule of law.99%ObjectivismA philosophy of rational self-interest, individual rights and laissez-faire capitalism.95%

Read more about Robert Nozick

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Biographies of Robert NozickBooks on minarchism

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: Libertarian Review, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.