ABSTRACT
Robert Nozick begins with the Lockeian "state-of-nature" to show how, by means of a series of "invisible hand" processes which violate the rights of no one, a legitimate "minimal state" may arise. The chapter argues that the only good minimal state is a dead minimal state, one which avows those processes to operate which would, if continued over a period of time, dissolve the minimal state into anarchism. It discusses Nozick's concept of "risk," his principle of "compensation," and his view that the explanation offered for the origin of the state is an "invisible hand" explanation. Professor Nozick argues that, “given” an anarchistic system of competing protective associations within a free market, one dominant agency will emerge, through market procedures and by economic necessity. The successful transformation of the ultraminimal state into the minimal state is dependent upon the ultra-minimal state’s allegiance to Professor Nozick’s principle of compensation.
