Yes — G.A. Cohen was a Marxist political philosopher who tried to give a very rigorous, analytic reconstruction of Marxism, and later turned his attention to questions of equality, justice, and socialism. He’s often called the founder of Analytical Marxism.

Here’s a breakdown of his main ideas across different phases of his work:

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1. Analytical Marxism (early work, 1970s–80s)

Karl Marx’s Theory of History: A Defence (1978)

• Cohen tried to defend historical materialism (Marx’s theory that history develops through changes in productive forces and relations of production) using the tools of analytic philosophy.

• He argued that:

  • The productive forces (technology, tools, knowledge, skills) are the primary driver of history.

  • Relations of production (like feudalism, capitalism) are explained functionally: they exist because they allow productive forces to develop.

  • Societies change when relations of production hold back productive forces (e.g., feudalism blocked commerce → capitalism emerged).

• This is a kind of technological determinism — Cohen saw history as ultimately driven by improvements in productive capacity.

Criticism: Other Marxists (e.g. Erik Olin Wright, Jon Elster) found this too rigid and deterministic, underplaying class struggle, politics, and contingency.

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2. Freedom, Self-Ownership, and Equality (1980s–90s)

Cohen engaged with libertarian thinkers, especially Robert Nozick.

• Nozick argued: individuals own themselves (self-ownership), so taxation is like forced labor. Inequality is fine as long as it results from voluntary exchange.

• Cohen’s response:

  • Even if we grant self-ownership, it doesn’t justify capitalist inequality, because:

    • Property rights over external resources (land, minerals, means of production) are not natural — they are social conventions.

    • If resources are privately owned, people without them are unfree, since they can’t live without submitting to the property-owners.

  • Therefore, libertarianism fails: it secures freedom for some (the property-owning) by denying real freedom to others.

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3. Egalitarianism and Justice (1990s–2000s)

Cohen helped develop egalitarian thought experiments to clarify what justice demands.

• Equality of access to advantage: Cohen argued that inequalities are only just if they result from people’s choices, not their circumstances.

  • Example: If two people are equally able-bodied, and one works longer hours for more income, that inequality is fair.

  • But if one person is disabled or born into poverty, inequality from that is unfair.

  • This builds on Rawls but pushes for a more radical leveling of outcomes.

• The camping trip analogy (If You’re an Egalitarian, How Come You’re So Rich?):

  • Imagine friends on a camping trip. Nobody thinks it fair that one person hoards the food or charges others to use a pan. They share according to need and ability.

  • Cohen argues: if equality and community are intuitive in small groups, why not in society at large?

• Critique of Rawls:

  • Rawls allowed inequality if it benefits the worst-off (the “difference principle”).

  • Cohen said this permits the rich to demand incentives (“pay us more or we won’t work hard, and the poor will suffer”).

  • But if the talented truly cared about justice, they wouldn’t make such threats. Justice requires not just good institutions, but also an ethos of equality in personal choices.

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4. Later Work (2000s)

• Became increasingly interested in the moral foundations of socialism — justice, community, and equality as intrinsic goods.

• He rejected crude determinist Marxism (that socialism will inevitably come through history), arguing instead that socialism must be defended on moral grounds.

• His later writing has a more personal and even humorous style (e.g. short essays, reflections on Marxism and Jewish identity).

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✅ Summary of G.A. Cohen’s Key Contributions

1. Analytical Marxism: Made Marxism precise, but also more deterministic.

2. Critique of libertarianism: Showed why self-ownership doesn’t justify capitalism.

3. Egalitarian justice: Inequalities are unjust unless they come from choice, not circumstance.

4. Critique of Rawls: Justice requires not only fair institutions but also egalitarian social attitudes.

5. Moral case for socialism: Community and equality are values in themselves, not just byproducts of history.

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Would you like me to focus more on his critique of Rawls and Nozick (his middle-to-late work), or more on his defense of Marx’s theory of history (his early work)? Both are influential, but in quite different debates.

You said:

Would you like me to focus more on his **critique of Rawls and Nozick** (his middle-to-late work)

Focus on this

ChatGPT said:

Got it — let’s focus in on G.A. Cohen’s critique of Rawls and Nozick, since that’s where his most distinctive contributions lie.

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1. Cohen vs. Rawls

Rawls, in A Theory of Justice, proposes two main principles:

• Equal basic liberties for all.

• The difference principle: inequalities are permissible only if they benefit the least advantaged.

Cohen thought this was too permissive. His criticisms:

• The Incentives Problem: Rawls says it’s just for high earners to be paid more if their extra effort (spurred by incentives) helps the poor. Cohen argued this is a moral mistake: if the well-off only work harder when given extra rewards, they’re choosing not to act from justice. True justice would mean people willingly use their talents to benefit everyone, not conditionally.

  • In other words: Rawls allows inequality because of people’s selfishness; Cohen says justice requires changing those attitudes.

• The Basic Structure vs. Personal Choices: Rawls focused on the “basic structure” of society (laws, institutions). Cohen argued that individual behavior and norms also matter. Even if institutions are just, if individuals act selfishly within them, the society is not fully just.

  • Example: If a fair tax system exists but the rich still look for loopholes, or just refuse to share talents without perks, justice is undermined.

So: Cohen pushes Rawls toward a more demanding, moralized conception of justice, not just institutional but also personal.

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2. Cohen vs. Nozick

Nozick, in Anarchy, State, and Utopia, argued for a libertarian view:

• Justice = respecting voluntary transfers + initial acquisition rights.

• Redistribution (taxation) is akin to forced labor (his “taxation = theft” line).

Cohen’s criticisms:

• Self-ownership critique: Nozick bases his theory on the idea that people “own themselves” and therefore their talents. Cohen points out that this doesn’t imply ownership of external resources (land, wealth, natural resources). He argues that luck in birth, natural endowments, and circumstances undermines the idea that holdings are purely self-owned.

• Luck and distributive justice: If one person happens to be born with musical talent, and another with none, why should markets reward one vastly more? Nozick says it’s just the way voluntary exchanges work. Cohen says this is morally arbitrary — inequality based on luck should be challenged.

So: Cohen dismantles the libertarian defense of inequality by questioning its assumptions about ownership and desert.

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3. Cohen’s Positive Position

From these critiques, Cohen’s own stance emerges:

• Justice requires egalitarian distribution not only in institutions but also in everyday conduct.

• Inequalities are only justifiable if they don’t rely on selfish bargaining power.

• A society of true justice would need not only fair laws but also an ethos of solidarity.

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👉 In short:

• Against Rawls: Cohen thought Rawls “caved in” to human selfishness, making justice too accommodating.

• Against Nozick: Cohen thought Nozick’s libertarianism ignored the arbitrariness of luck and falsely extended self-ownership to the world’s resources.

• His alternative: A demanding, moralized egalitarianism — both institutional and personal.

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Do you want me to expand this into a critique of Cohen himself (what his critics say — e.g. that he’s too utopian or ignores motivational realities), or should I keep the focus strictly on his critiques of Rawls and Nozick?