§ Cell № 68 of 81
Row 8, Col 5
Economic: Centrist
Governance: Minimal
Coords: X+0 · Y-3
Economic: Centrist
Governance: Minimal
Coords: X+0 · Y-3
Descriptor
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Minarchist
“State for defence, contracts only.”
Exemplar ↓
§ 01
The Idea
What Minarchist actually means.
Minarchism supports a minimal state restricted to law enforcement, defense, and courts, while leaving most social and economic functions to voluntary arrangements.
Robert Nozick's 'Anarchy, State, and Utopia' provides a foundational argument for Minarchism, asserting that a limited government naturally emerges to protect individual rights. Nozick opposed redistributive policies, viewing them as coercive, and instead championed personal freedom and voluntary exchange.
§ 02 · Tenets
Core commitments.
01
Night-watchman state: defence, courts, police.
02
All other functions left to markets and civil society.
03
Strict limits on taxation and spending.
04
Constitutional rules constrain political will.
05
Spontaneous order over central design.
§ 03 · Position
Where it sits on the grid.
Economic axis — X+0
CENTRIST
Full collectivisationUnfettered markets
Governance axis — Y-3
MINIMAL
Total controlNo state at all
§ 04 · Reading List
Canon & critics.
§ Canon
- Anarchy, State, and UtopiaRobert Nozick1974 · ~370 pp
- The Machinery of FreedomDavid Friedman1973 · ~270 pp
§ Critics
- The Cost of RightsStephen Holmes & Cass R. Sunstein1999 · ~260 pp
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