John Rawls vs Robert Nozick
John Rawls
United States- Political philosopher
- Professor at Harvard University
American philosopher whose theory of justice as fairness defended equal basic liberties and allowing inequalities only when they benefit the least advantaged.
Full profile of John Rawls
Robert Nozick
United States- Philosopher
- Professor at Harvard University
American philosopher whose Anarchy, State, and Utopia argued that only a minimal state limited to protecting rights is justified, challenging redistributive theories of justice.
Full profile of Robert NozickIn short
How they compare
John Rawls (1921-2002) and Robert Nozick (1938-2002) are a 59% match on the 8 axes where both have a clear record.
They differ most on welfare (John Rawls: shared (moderate); Robert Nozick: self-reliant (strong)), ownership (John Rawls: public (moderate); Robert Nozick: private (strong)) and markets (John Rawls: planned (mild); Robert Nozick: free (strong)). They are closest on security, morality and religion.
On the economy Robert Nozick sits further toward markets; on state and liberty John Rawls sits further toward authority; on society their positions are close.
Generated from the two sourced profiles on this site. Each axis placement and its reasoning is on the full profile pages.
★ By family of axes
- Economy3 axes
- John Rawlsequality (moderate)Robert Nozickmarkets (strong)
- State and liberty3 axes
- John Rawlsliberty (moderate)Robert Nozickliberty (moderate)
- Society2 axes
- John Rawlsprogress (moderate)Robert Nozickprogress (moderate)
- John Rawls: petals and stars
- Robert Nozick: dashed outline
★ Where they differ most
- Welfare150 points apart
John Rawls: Shared (moderate). Robert Nozick: Self-reliant (strong).
- Ownership120 points apart
John Rawls: Public (moderate). Robert Nozick: Private (strong).
- Markets120 points apart
John Rawls: Planned (mild). Robert Nozick: Free (strong).
- Structure50 points apart
John Rawls: Balanced. Robert Nozick: Local (moderate).
★ Where they are closest
- Religion · 5 apart
- Morality · 5 apart
- Security · 5 apart
Axis by axis
Robert Nozick
Economy
Equality / Markets- OwnershipModerate: Public68%32%PublicPrivate
- MarketsMild: Planned65%35%PlannedFree
- WelfareModerate: Shared80%20%SharedSelf-reliant
State and liberty
Liberty / Authority- AuthorityModerate: Democratic80%20%DemocraticStrong leader
- SecurityModerate: Liberty73%27%LibertyOrder
- StructureBalanced50%50%LocalCentral
Society
Progress / Tradition- MoralityModerate: Progressive73%27%ProgressiveTraditional
- ReligionModerate: Secular68%32%SecularReligious
- TechnologyNo clear recordEmbraceCaution
- CultureNo clear recordMulticulturalNational identity
World
Global / Nation- TradeNo clear recordGlobalProtected
- Foreign policyNo clear recordCooperationStrength
Not compared: Technology (no clear record for either), Culture (no clear record for Robert Nozick), Trade (no clear record for John Rawls), Foreign policy (no clear record for Robert Nozick). These axes are greyed out above and left out of the match.
★ 12 Axes Political Test ★
Who are you closer to?
Answer plain statements on 12 axes and see your match with John Rawls, Robert Nozick and every other historical figure, axis by axis.
FAQ
John Rawls vs Robert Nozick
What is the difference between John Rawls and Robert Nozick?
They differ most on welfare (John Rawls: shared (moderate); Robert Nozick: self-reliant (strong)), ownership (John Rawls: public (moderate); Robert Nozick: private (strong)) and markets (John Rawls: planned (mild); Robert Nozick: free (strong)). On the economy Robert Nozick sits further toward markets; on state and liberty John Rawls sits further toward authority; on society their positions are close.
What do John Rawls and Robert Nozick have in common?
They are closest on security, morality and religion. Overall their profiles are a 59% match on the 8 axes where both have a clear record.
Who leans more toward free markets, John Rawls or Robert Nozick?
On the economic axes they share, Robert Nozick sits further toward markets and John Rawls further toward equality. John Rawls reads as equality (moderate) overall, Robert Nozick as markets (strong).
Am I closer to John Rawls or Robert Nozick?
Take the 12 Axes Political Test. Your result shows your match with both of them, and with every other historical figure and ideology on the site, axis by axis.
