The book derives the welfare state from right-libertarian principles and, therefore, arrives at policy prescriptions of the political left based on the philosophical principles of the political right. For that purpose the book offers a detailed analysis of right-libertarianism with a particular focus on the work of Robert Nozick. Further, it engages economic and sociological theory and addresses questions of transgenerational compensation, causation, historical wrongs, and collective responsibility. The discussion of transgenerational compensation includes an in-depth treatment of the non-identity problem. The final chapters spell out the arguments' specific implications for public policy and philosophical theory.