The fundamental question of political philosophy, one that precedes questions about how the state should be organized, is whether there should be any state at all. Why not have anarchy?
Robert NozickRead
Given the complexity of interpersonal relationships and institutions and the complexity of co-ordination of the actions of many people, it is enormously unlikely that, even if there were one ideal pattern for society, it could be arrived at in an a priori fashion. And even supposing that some great genius did come along with a blueprint, who could have the confidence that it could work
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the improbability of developing a perfect societal blueprint due to the complexity of human relationships and actions.
Robert Nozick suggests that attempting to create an ideal societal structure is highly unlikely because of the intricate nature of human interactions and the coordination required among people. Even if someone were to propose a perfect model, it would be hard for anyone to believe it could be successfully implemented, given the unpredictable dynamics of society.
Themes
SocietyComplexityRelationshipsBlueprintCoordination
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on social reform, this quote can highlight the challenges of implementing new ideas.
More from Robert Nozick
All quotes →There are only individual people, different individual people, with their own individual lives. Using one of these people for the benefit of others uses him and benefits the others. Nothing more. What happens is that something is done to him for the sake of others. Talk of an overall social good covers this up.
Robert NozickRead
And although it might be best of all to be Socrates satisfied, having both happiness and depth, we would give up some happiness in order to gain the depth.
Robert NozickRead
I think philosophers can do things akin to theoretical scientists, in that, having read about empirical data, they too can think of what hypotheses and theories might account for that data. So there's a continuity between philosophy and science in that way.
Robert NozickRead
The history of philosophy is actually full of people who argue for rather wild and incredible views, and their reputations are based on the skill of arguing for them.
Robert NozickRead
What else can matter to us, other than how our lives feel from the inside?
Robert NozickRead
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