Answer to Question #193477 in Political Science for lisa

Question

According to Robert Nozick’s theory of justice, liberal calls for justice as the redistribution of

resources attempts to create a forced equality. I this process, the idea of equality is turned into

a dogmatic application of distributive schemes.

Critically discuss this position by Nozick with reference to the issue of land-redistribution in

South Africa. Focus specifically on Nozick’s idea of justice as entitlement in formulating your

answer.

Answer 1

According to Nozick, historically received distribution of property rights should be protected, except where the legitimacy of a particular holding was undermined by its dependence on a prior unjust transfer. In such cases, the chain of transfers should be traced back to the past unjust transfer, and the property right restored to the person who would have held the

property right but for that transfer. In the context of South Africa, having experienced Apartheid, land redistribution was meant to relocate land to the landless, poor, farm workea and labour tenants for residential and productive uses. Land redistribution, as opposed to land restitution, would be used to address the land needs of those whose claims were frustrated by the cut-

off date. Ethnic issues was used in distributing land hence creating conflicts on matters land. Land has been affected by post-apartheid property rights order of a particular set of unjust holdings in South Africa.