An Open Society: Robert Nozick’s Utopian Project Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Avery F White Graduate Program in Political Science The Ohio State University 2019 Dissertation Committee MacGilvray, Eric Neblo, Michael Turner, Piers Norris 1 Copyrighted by Avery F White 2019 2 Abstract How can we help individuals solve the dilemma between living a good life and an ethical life? Doing so will have benefits for both the person in question and those they behave ethically towards, yet most people in American society tend to pursue the material good life of consumption at the expense of their own espoused ethics. In this project, I propose a solution premised on the utopian thought of Robert Nozick, which I suggest is a form of open society as espoused by John Stuart Mill, Karl Popper, and Gerald Gaus. Nozick’s particular approach to utopia would dissolve loci of power that currently limit individual choice, and prevents them from choosing the otherwise appealing forms of life that allow the good life and the ethical life to be pursued simultaneously. Furthermore, Nozick’s approach is feasible due to its ability to piggy-back on the ideological power of neoliberalism. Although this utopian project requires going beyond Nozick’s own libertarianism, we can find the resources to do so hidden within Nozick’s own writings. Although it is the case that full instituting Nozick’s utopia society-wide may not be worth the necessary costs, a bounded form of such a society will go some way towards dissolving the apparent conflict between the good life and the ethical life. ii Dedication For Anna and Esme iii Acknowledgments I would like to thank Eric MacGilvray, Michael Neblo, and Piers Norris Turner for their support and advice over the course of writing this dissertation. I would also like to thank Benjamin McKean, Jennifer Mitzen, Ines Valdez, and Alexander Wendt for their support throughout my time at Ohio State. Anna Shabalov provided extensive editorial assistance. Jose Fortou, Austin Knuppe, Reed Kurtz, Anna Meyer-Rose, and Drew Rosenberg all provided help during the dissertation writing process. Chapter Two is based on a paper that was presented at the Ohio State Political Theory Workshop and at the annual American Political Science Association conference, and I thank the participants of both for their helpful comments. Karen Hays, Spencer White, Henry White, and Justine Borst all helped immensely at home. Finally, Anna Shabalov and Esme White put up with me while I attempted to, and sometimes succeeded in, writing this dissertation, for which I thank them profusely. iv Vita Education 2006-2010.........................B.A., Middlebury College 2010-2013.........................J.D., Yale University 2013-2015.........................M.A., Political Science, The Ohio State University 2015-2019.........................PhD Candidate, Political Science, The Ohio State University Publications Morrison, James Ashley and Avery F. White. 2011. “International Regimes and War.” In The Handbook of the Political Economy of War. Edited by Christopher J. Coyne and Rachel L. Mathers. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar: 356-378. Neblo, Michael and Avery White. 2018. “Political in Translation: Communication between Sites in the Deliberative System.” In The Oxford Handbook of Deliberative Democracy. Edited by Andrew Bachtinger, John S. Dryzek, Jane Mansbridge, and Mark E. Warren. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 447-462. v Fields of Study Major Field: Political Science vi Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Vita ...................................................................................................................................... v Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 1: The Good Life and the Ethical Life ............................................................................ 6 2: Stuck in Consumerism .............................................................................................. 14 3: The Open Society...................................................................................................... 22 4: Nozick’s Utopia ........................................................................................................ 30 5: Overview of the Argument ....................................................................................... 36 Chapter Two: Overconsumption as an Adaptive Preference ............................................ 41 1:What Is An Adaptive Preference? ............................................................................. 45 1.1: Elster on Adaptive Preferences .......................................................................... 46 1.2 : Nozick on Rationality and Imagination ............................................................ 50 2: What’s Wrong with Adaptive Preferences?.............................................................. 52 2.1: Imagination, Adaptive Preferences, and Libertarianism ................................... 54 3: Inverse Adaptive Preferences ................................................................................... 57 3.1: Testing the Concept ........................................................................................... 59 3.2: Investigating Inverse Adaptive Preferences ...................................................... 60 4: Is Overconsumption an Adaptive Preference?.......................................................... 64 4.1: The Pursuit of Wealth as an Abundantly Available Activity ............................ 65 4.2: The Rational Pursuit of Wealth ......................................................................... 66 4.3: Consumption and Adaptive Preferences ............................................................ 71 5: Constraints of Inverse Adaptive Preferences ............................................................ 76 Chapter Three: Nozick’s Meta-Utopia.............................................................................. 83 vii 1: Nozick’s Meta-Utopia............................................................................................... 84 2: Application................................................................................................................ 93 3: Utopia’s Inhabitants .................................................................................................. 97 4: Further Considerations ............................................................................................ 107 5: Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 113 Chapter Four: The Minimal State and the Meta-Utopia ................................................. 114 1: Beyond the Minimal State ...................................................................................... 117 1.1: Education ......................................................................................................... 117 1.2: Information ...................................................................................................... 119 1.3: Place ................................................................................................................. 121 1.4: Mobility ........................................................................................................... 122 2: Self-Ownership and its Discontents ........................................................................ 125 2.1: Nozick and Self-Ownership ............................................................................. 126 2.2: The Debate Over Self-Ownership.................................................................... 130 2.3: Moving Forward .............................................................................................. 135 3: Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 138 Chapter Five: The More-Than-Minimal State ................................................................ 139 1: The Basis of a Right to Self-Ownership ................................................................. 141 1.1: Nozick on the Source of Rights ....................................................................... 141 1.2: The Later Nozick ............................................................................................. 144 1.3: A Libertarian Good? ........................................................................................ 152 2: Government and the Good Life .............................................................................. 159 2.1: The Substance of Leading a Good Life ........................................................... 161 2.2: Sacrifice ........................................................................................................... 167 2.3: Implementation ................................................................................................ 172 3: Conclusion .............................................................................................................