John Rawls' The Theory of Justice (1971) and the polemical reply of Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State and Utopia (1975) are two of the best known works of American political philosophy of the late 20th century.
The privilege accorded to these two texts reveals more about the place of liberalism (Rawls) and conservative-libertarianism (Nozick) than it does for an innovative contribution to social-political philosophy. Rawls' original text and its subsequent revised edition is an apologia for the promise of the Welfare Society and the liberal state. Rawls' positions borrow directly from John Stuart Mills' utilitarian principles and maxims: the greatest good for the greatest number.
Nozick's reply has been favored by conservative libertarians as a rationalized defense of individual difference and offers a rationale for defending the rise of the rich, with their special protections as seen in the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 1%. Nozick wrote his piece as a direct response to Rawls.
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