Essential Nozick: Income inequality and the role of choice

Welcome to the essential ideas of Robert Nozick.

The idea that government should redistribute income between different

groups of people has become quite popular. Nozick argued that looking at differences

in income and wealth at any particular point in time misses important explanations for why

different people might reasonably have different amounts of income or wealth.

For example, John and Tommy earn vastly different incomes. John is a successful surgeon who earns

a high income, whereas Tommy works part time as a dishwasher and earns a lot less.

Many people think it's OK for the government to take some of John's income and give it to Tommy.

Nozick explained that you need to consider the choices people make when looking at differences.

20 years earlier, John and Tommy were both smart students. After high school,

John attended University, and then medical school. After studying hard for many years,

John became a surgeon and his skills were in high demand, which results in a high salary.

Tommy, however, moved to a small town on the west coast after graduation to pursue his passion:

surfing. Tommy freely decided not to go to college, and chose to get a part-time job as

a dishwasher so he had the freedom to surf. Simply looking at the income Tommy and John

earn at a particular point in time—say, 20 years after graduation--you would only see

John earns a lot more than Tommy. But because the different levels of income are the result of John

and Tommy's free choices, Nozick explained, it wouldn't be right for the government to take

some of John's income and give it to Tommy. Nozick's insights into the role of voluntary

choices helps explain why it's reasonable and even acceptable that people have

different levels of income and why enforced redistribution policies often overlook that fact.

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