Who argued that “property rights should be strictly upheld, provided that wealth has been justly acquired in the first place, or has been justly transferred from one person to another” ?

Correct option is C

The quote is from Robert Nozick, a prominent philosopher and a key figure in libertarian thought. He argued this in his work Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), where he defended a minimal state and the idea that property rights should be respected if they are acquired or transferred justly. Nozick's theory of justice is based on the principles of individual rights and the idea that any interference with someone's property is unjust unless it follows from principles of justice in acquisition or transfer.

Information Booster :
Robert Nozick: His entitlement theory is crucial in libertarian thought. According to him, the justice of a distribution of goods depends on whether the process of acquiring and transferring property is just.

Mahatma Gandhi and Antonio Gramsci are not associated with this perspective on property rights. Gandhi had a more nuanced view of property, influenced by his ideas on nonviolence and social justice, while Gramsci's focus was on class struggle and hegemony.

Thomas Hobbes was concerned with security and the establishment of a social contract, where property rights are part of a broader political structure for the sake of social order, but he did not argue in the way Nozick did.

Additional Information:

Option (1) Mahatma Gandhi: Gandhi was focused on the moral dimensions of property and emphasized self-sufficiency over accumulation of wealth.

Option (2) Antonio Gramsci: Gramsci’s theories on power and class do not directly address property rights in the way Nozick does. His work focuses on cultural hegemony and the role of the state in maintaining capitalist structures.

Option (4) Thomas Hobbes: In Leviathan, Hobbes argues for the necessity of a sovereign authority to maintain peace and security, but his views on property are tied to the need for a strong central authority rather than Nozick’s libertarian view.