Anarchy, State, and Utopia is a work of political philosophy written by Robert Nozick in 1974. This highly acclaimed libertarian book was the winner of the 1975 National Book Award. In opposition to A Theory of Justice by John Rawls, Nozick argues in favor of a minimal state, "limited to the narrow functions of protection against force, theft, fraud, enforcement of contracts, and so on." When a state takes on more responsibilities than these, Nozick argues, rights will be violated. To support the idea of the minimal state, Nozick posits an ultraminimal state as a thought experiment and attempts to show how it will lead to a minimal state. Political philosophy is the study of the fundamental questions about the state, government, politics, property, law and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it should... Robert Nozick (November 16, 1938 – January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher and Pellegrino University Professor at Harvard University. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... This article deals with the libertarianism as defined in America and several other nations. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... The National Book Awards is the most important literary prize in the United States, presented annually for the best book by a living US citizen published in the US. The awards have been presented since 1950 in at least one category, and is presently awarded in each of four categories... A Theory of Justice is a book of political and moral philosophy by John Rawls. ... John Rawls (February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was a philosopher, a professor of political philosophy at Harvard University and author of A Theory of Justice (1971), Political Liberalism, and The Law of Peoples. ... In philosophy, physics, and other fields, a thought experiment (from the German Gedankenexperiment) is an attempt to solve a problem using the power of human imagination. ...

Nozick's Entitlement Theory, influenced by John Locke, Immanuel Kant, and Friedrich Hayek, which sees humans as ends in themselves and justifies redistribution of goods only on condition of consent, is a key aspect of Anarchy, State, and Utopia. The book has been translated into 11 languages and was named one of the "100 most influential books since the war" by the Times Literary Supplement. The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject. ... John Locke John Locke (August 29, 1632–October 28, 1704) was a 17th-century philosopher concerned primarily with society and epistemology. ... Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804) was a German philosopher and geographer from Prussia, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ... Friedrich von Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek (May 8, 1899 in Vienna – March 23, 1992 in Freiburg) was an economist and social scientist of the Austrian School, noted for his defense of liberal democracy and free-market capitalism against a rising tide of socialist and collectivist thought in the mid... The Times Literary Supplement (or TLS) is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation. ...

The book also contains a vigorous defense of libertarianism against more extreme views, such as anarcho-capitalism (in which there is no state and individuals must contract with private companies for all social services). Anarcho-capitalism refers to an anti-statist philosophy that embraces capitalism as one of its foundational principles. ...