Abstract
In this paper I address the issue of how far libertarianism can serve as the theoretical framework for a political morality excluding serious obligations to the needy. This issue has been raised recently by Gillian Brock who argues that even those adopting a thoroughgoing libertarianism, such as that of Robert Nozick, must recognise significant obligations to the needy as a condition of claiming exclusive property rights. I argue that Brock fails to demonstrate this. After briefly describing Brock's main argument I discuss the acquisition of libertarian property rights, and try to show there are sufficient resources in Nozick's account for him to accept her main conclusion in principle without recognising significant obligations. Then, after some supplementary discussion, I sketch two different lines of argument. One uses the issue of corporate liability. The other focusses on problems with Nozick's "entitlement" principle of rectification. I try to show that even if the libertarian entitlement theory of property rights, their acquisition and transfer, is accepted, this gives no grounds for resisting claims for redistribution based on others' needs.
References
Barry, N.: 1986, On Classical Liberalism and Libertarianism (Macmillan, London).
Brock, G.: 1995, 'Is Redistribution to Help the Needy Unjust?', Analysis 55(1), 50–60.
Brock, G.: 1996, 'Meeting Needs and Business Obligations: An Argument for the Libertarian Skeptic', Journal of Business Ethics 15, 695–702.
Chryssides, D. and J. H. Kayler: 1993, An Introduction to Business Ethics (Chapman and Hall, London).
Evan, W. M. and R. E. Freeman: 1988, 'A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation: Kantian Capitalism', in Chryssides and Kayler, pp. 254–266.
Freeman, E. and D. Reed: 1983, 'Stockholders and Stakeholders: A New Perspective on Corporate Governance', in Huizinga (ed.), Corporate Governance: Adefinitive Exploration of the Issues (UCLA Extension Press, Los Angeles).
Friedman, F.: 1970, 'The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits', The New York Times Magazine (September 13), Reprinted in Chryssides and Kayler.
Gibbard, A.: 1986, 'Natural Property Rights', in R. M. Stewart (ed.), Readings in Social and Political Philosophy (OUP, Oxford), pp. 237–242.
Monks, R. A. and N. Minow: 1995, Corporate Governance (Blackwell, Oxford).
Nozick, R.: 1974, Anarchy, State and Utopia (Basil Blackwell, Oxford).
Nozick, R.: 1989, The Examined Life (Simon and Schuster, New York).
Paul, J. (ed.): 1982, Reading Nozick (Blackwell, Oxford).
Williams, B.: 1982, 'The Minimal State', in Paul, J. (ed.).
Wolff, J.: 1991, Robert Nozick: Property, Justice and the Minimal State (Polity Press, Oxford).
Wolff, R. P.: 1982, 'Robert Nozick's Derivation of the Minimal State', in Paul, J (ed.).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hailwood, S.A. Why "Business's Nastier Friends" Should Not Be Libertarians. Journal of Business Ethics 24, 77–86 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006192826836
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006192826836