Robert Nozick

Ralf M. Bader read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford (St Edmund Hall), gaining a First Class degree. Having completed an MLitt in Philosophy with Distinction at the University of St Andrews, he is now working on his PhD at St Andrews and is currently a visiting researcher in the Philosophy Department at Stanford University. Dr Meadowcroft is Lecturer in Public Policy at King's College London and the author of The Ethics of the Market (Palgrave, 2005) and co-author of Rescuing Social Capital from Social Democracy (Institute of Economic Affairs, 2007).

• Chapter 1: Biography; Nozick's life; Nozick's approach to philosophy; Chapter 2: Critical Exposition; The Moral Foundation; Rights considered as side constraints; The basis of libertarian side constraints; Against Anarchy; State of nature theorizing; From anarchy to the minimal state; Nothing More Than the Minimal State; Theories of justice; Against patterns; Moral luck, equality and entitlements; The Minimal State as an Inspiring Utopia; The best possible world; Individuality, diversity and the minimal state; Beyond Anarchy, State, and Utopia; Chapter 3: Reception and Influence; Critique of rights-based libertarianism; Against the legitimate state; More than the minimal state?; Problems with the meta-utopia; Chapter 4: Relevance; Rights-based libertarianism; Taking anarchism seriously; Justice and entitlements; The meta-utopia; Bibliography; Index.

"The volumes in this timely series comprise the most comprehensive body of material on conservative and libertarian thought yet published in a single project devoted to the subject. The series will prove an indispensable tool not only for those concerned with the history of political thought but also for those who confront the challenging task of constructing a viable contemporary conservative identity. Professor Meadowcroft had a difficult editorial task, to which he has responded with a judicious choice of thinkers and topics." Noel O'Sullivan, Professor of Political Philosophy, the University of Hull, UK."