Maximal Value of the Smallest Country: A Study on Nozick's View of the State

Author: Luo Kequan
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2005-10-01
Features: In what sense do humans become social animals? To what extent can society achieve harmony with the state? Under what type of state structure can the possession and transfer of justice be realized? Does the market embody fairness or efficiency? Is freedom a right or a state of being? Is morality harmless or benevolent? The research on these questions does not aim to distinguish right from wrong but seeks to demonstrate different ways of life and why they can coexist. The study and exploration of the extreme "negative liberalism" state view—Nozick's "minimal state"—reveal its internal contradictions: the inherent contradiction between freedom and rights, which in turn leads to an internal contradiction in the nature and functions of the state. This is the premise for radicalizing Nozick's state view. Academic critiques of Nozick's state view both domestically and internationally can be divided into two aspects: one argues that his state view emphasizes individual freedom while neglecting social justice; the other he "atomizes" individual freedom. This paper argues that the best approach to solving the problem is to take the internal logic of Nozick's state view as a premise and expose the inherent contradictions within his theory. Through research, we find that Nozick's "minimal state" should be a "non-model state," but it inevitably remains plagued by an irreconcilable internal contradiction between freedom and rights. Thus, we radicalize this state view, transforming it into Marxism's "non-political state." The core concept of Nozick's state view is "moral marginal constraint," which is the market outcome of the affirmation and negation of individual natural rights, serving as the behavioral boundary of individual natural rights. It is diverse and has no completed model. Therefore, the justice of the "minimal state" is non-model-based. This also determines that the upper limit of Nozick's "minimal state" can only be the market principle of non-interference and non-removal of individual natural rights.