The Theory of Justice in John Rawls and Robert Nozick’s debate

Abstract

The increase in the scope of liberal or even libertarian ideas has motivated returns to important works of thought in this field. In this sense, it is justified in an attempt to retake some of the most important theoretical constructions in this field, especially that produced by Robert Nozick, notably in his book Estado, Anarquia e Utopia. For this, however, a brief presentation of John Rawls' work, A theory of Justice, is also necessary, understanding that this work is a fundamental part to understand Nozick's own construction. Thus, a strictly theoretical work is proposed that seeks to reflect on the importance of the debate on the theory of justice based on the contributions of these authors. At the end, the main divergences between the two authors are evidenced and other aspects that cross the debate on the theory of justice in the present time are also highlighted, with emphasis on the theory of recognition, especially in the form in which it was proposed by Axel Honneth.