Nozick, Robert

"Freedom from interference is more important than material equality."

"The state must be neutral about citizens' conceptions of the good life."

"Each person has a fundamental right to their own labor and its fruits."

"Justice requires respecting how people came to have what they have."

"Forced charity violates the rights of those from whom it is taken."

"The minimal state emerges morally justified from a state of nature."

"Liberty is a precondition for living a human life of dignity."

"We should be skeptical of grand theories that override individual rights."

"Personal autonomy is a central value that cannot be sacrificed."

"Rights provide limits that constrain permissible action."

"The entitlement theory of justice focuses on process, not patterns."

"Moral theory must account for the separateness and distinctness of persons."

"Legitimate holdings come from just acquisition and just transfer."

"Equality before the law is not the same as economic equality."

"The state lacks justification for extensive redistributive schemes."

"Individuals should be free to pursue their own plans and projects."

"Rights constrain not only what the state can do but what anyone can do."

"We have a right to the fruits of our labor and talent."

"Aggregate welfare cannot justify violating individual rights."

"The minimal state respects persons as ends in themselves."

"Coercion for distributive purposes treats people as means to others' ends."

"A just distribution depends on how people came to have their holdings."

"Morality consists of side constraints that limit our pursuit of goals."

"People have rights that cannot be overridden by utilitarian calculations."

"Free market transactions respect the autonomy of all parties."

"The state should protect rights, not enforce any particular conception of justice."

"Redistribution requires justification it cannot provide."

"Each person is sovereign over their own life and labor."

"Justice in holdings requires just steps of acquisition and transfer."

"Voluntary cooperation among individuals is the basis of social order."