hough many people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, Nozik’s theory of justice states that one has no obligation to help those people. The previous premise comes to form Nozik’s “entitlement theory.” Simply put, this theory states that people are entitled to their belongings and may use them as they wish, as long as they have fairly acquired them and have not violated another’s Lockean rights in the process. His theory is summarized as follows:1. A person who acquires a holding in accordance with the principle of justice in acquisition is entitled to that holding.2. A person who acquires a holding in accordance with the principle of justice in transfer, from someone else entitled to the holding, is entitled to the holding.3. No one is entitled to a holding except by (repeated) applications of 1 and 2.Relating to poverty, libertarians feel that no matter how the actual distribution of economic holdings may look, if all involved are entitled to the holdings they possess, then the distribution is just. In addition, libertarians would be against government intervention in a society to either improve the social situation or economic situation. They feel that to tweak the economy, so to speak, would involve violating someone’s liberty, and therefore would make it morally unacceptable. By definition, libertarianism requires that market relations are totally unrestricted. This means that interfering with uncoerced and non-fraudulent transactions or exchanges between consenting adults is strictly forbidden. For example, a libertarian would be against government regulation of wages, since the matter of earnings should be decided between an employer and employee. Likewise, a libertarian would be against providing the poor with welfare, food stamps, and subsidized housing, because such programs are in direct contrast with their beliefs about liberty. Why is this? To them, liberty means ...
