Anarchism/Minarchism Is a Government Part of a Free Country?

It is well known that the radical libertarian philosopher Robert Nozick sharply distinguished his vision of the free society from egalitarian liberals such as John Rawls. Less remarked upon is the distinction he drew between the free society governed by a strictly limited government, commonly referred to as 'minarchism', and the society without any government at all - anarchism. In this volume, the editors, Long - an anarchist - and Machan - a minarchist - have brought together a selection of specially commissioned essays from key theorists actively involved in this debate. Each tackles the question of whether or not a government forms a legitimate part of a free society or whether anarchy/minarchy is merely a distinction without a difference.

Contents: Preface, Roderick T. Long and Tibor R. Machan; Part 1 Minarchism: Why the state needs a justification, Lester H. Hunt; Libertarianism, limited government and anarchy, John Roger Lee; Rationality, history and inductive politics, Adam Reed; Objectivism against anarchy, William R. Thomas; Reconciling anarchism and minarchism, Tibor R. Machan. Part 2 Anarchism: Radical freedom and social living, Aeon James Skoble; The state: from minarchy to anarchy, Jan Narveson; The obviousness of anarchy, John Hasnas; Market anarchism as constitutionalism, Roderick T. Long; Liberty, equality, solidarity: towards a dialectical anarchism, Charles Johnson; Index.

Roderick T. Long is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Auburn University, Alabama, USA. Tibor R. Machan holds the R. C. Hoiles Chair in Business Ethics, Chapman University, Orange, CA.