PPE Workshop on Anarchy, State, and Utopia

The Kellogg Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics will host a workshop on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, State, and Utopia on Thursday, August 8, 2024, in the Goodall Room (formerly Multipurpose Room) in the Newman Library.

Since its publication, Anarchy, State, and Utopia has become a classic of political philosophy. The book is full of innovative ideas and intriguing thought experiments that have had an immense influence on the discipline as well as related fields. The book is best-known for its critique of John Rawls’ theory of justice, the defense of Nozick’s entitlement theory of justice, and the justification of a minimal state. However, the book also contains discussions of invisible hand explanations, the moral standing of animals, hedonism, Marxian political theory, workplace democracy, utopian thinking, and more. Many of these discussions draw on methods and themes in philosophy, politics, and economics.

The workshop offers a forum for scholars to present their most recent work on Nozick and PPE-related themes drawn from Anarchy, State, and Utopia.