The Tale of the Slave - Robert Nozick

"The Tale of the Slave" features in Robert Nozick's book, "Anarchy, State and Utopia". Text from pp. 290-292 of the book can be read here. Explained in the video by Tom Woods. Source: StatelessLiberty YouTube channel.

(see video at the bottom of transcript)

Transcript:

Robert Nozick developed something called “The Tale of the Slave.” It's very brief. Goes through nine quick stages. Nozick invites you to imagine yourself as the slave in the story.

Stage one is that you are indeed a slave, subject to a brutal master who forces you to work for him and who beats you arbitrarily.

In the second stage the master lightens up a bit and he beats you only for breaking the rules. And he even grants you some free time.

In the third stage we add the additional dimension that you are one of a group of slaves subject to this master. And this master, based on principles that are acceptable to all of you, decides how goods will be allocated among you.

In the fourth stage you even get some time off. You have to work for the master for only 3 days per week. The other 4 days are your own.

In stage five you even get to work wherever you want, but you have to remit to the master three sevenths of your wages to correspond to the 3 day out of seven that you once worked for him. He also retains the right to recall you into service in emergencies, and to increase at any time the fraction of your wages to which he lays claim.

Then, in stage six, everyone, all – let's say ten thousand slaves - except you – are granted the right to vote, so they get to decide what is allowed and what is not allowed. They get to decide what fraction of your wages will be taken away and what outlets the money will be spent on.

In stage seven you still don't have the right to vote, but you are allowed to try to persuade those who can vote to exercise their powers in a particular way.

In stage eight, you are granted the right to vote, but only to break a tie. You write down your vote, and if a tie should occur, your vote is opened up and recorded. No tie has ever occurred.

Finally in stage nine you are fully granted the right to vote. But this simply means functionally that, as in stage eight, in case of a tie your vote carries the issue. But there has never been a tie.

Nozick's question is this: At what stage, between 1 and 9, did this become something other than the tale of a slave? That's the kind of mind blowing question that makes you rethink everything you've been taught about taxation and society, government. It's the kind of thing that makes you skeptical of government propaganda from that moment on. And that's precisely why Nozick's question is never asked.

Translated by Jadranko Brkic