Private Law Theory

ABSTRACT
We argue that Nozick’s right-libertarianism implies astronomically large reparations for historical injustice, undermining the justification of the existing distribution of wealth in perpetuity. We defend and operationalize what we call the ‘quasi-trustee’ model of reparations under right-libertarianism. By our downwardly biased estimates, the injustice of American slavery alone calls the entire stock of global wealth into question.

Lewis, Christopher and Usmani, Adaner, The Libertarian Case Against Property (February 28, 2025), forthcoming, Law and Philosophy (2025).