Today we will be discussing the contributions of Robert Nozick to modern social philosophy and political economy.  It is my impression, perhaps wrong, that most philosophers and political theorists focus on Nozick’s “rights theory” and his rights-based arguments against Rawlsian social justice.

I don’t deny that such a reading makes sense, but I wonder if it is the best reading of Nozick’s book.  As an economist, I emphasize his style of reasoning (invisible hand theorizing) and the mechanisms he identifies (e.g., competition between political units).  And even in the sections dealing with social justice, Nozick is as much a process theorist as a rights-based theorist.

In discussing Nozick’s contributions among philosophers and political theorists how much time and effort is spent thinking about invisible-hand explanations, process tracking, the benefits of competitive pressures among political units, etc.?