This chapter sets out the various kinds of conflict between the value of equality and the value o... more This chapter sets out the various kinds of conflict between the value of equality and the value of those parent–child relationships that constitute the family. It offers two reasons not to pursue fair equality of opportunity all the way. On the one hand, we must be prepared for children of similar talent and ability raised by different parents to enjoy somewhat unfairly unequal prospects of achieving the rewards attached to different jobs, since the alternative would cost too much in terms of familial relationship goods. On the other hand, some unfairness in the distribution of those prospects could be beneficial for those who have unfairly less. In both cases, then, there are conflicts between fair equality of opportunity and other values.
The right to be a parent is a right to a relationship with a child in which one has certain right... more The right to be a parent is a right to a relationship with a child in which one has certain rights with respect to that child. But what are the rights that the right to parent is a right to exercise? Does respecting that right require that parents be permitted to pursue their children's material interests in ways that harm the interests of other children? If so, in which ways and to what extent? This chapter describes this relationship and the goods it contributes to adult lives in enough detail to support the claim that adults have a right to it, but without getting into the details of what precisely the relationship consists in.
<p>The family is justified because it produces certain goods that would otherwise not be av... more <p>The family is justified because it produces certain goods that would otherwise not be available, or, in some cases, would be much more difficult to produce. These goods—familial relationship goods—are enjoyed by children and by the adults who are their parents. This chapter focuses on the goods it produces for children, arguing that their interests are such as to support the claim that children have a right to be raised by parents—in families. First, it defines what we mean by children and childhood. It then explains what interests are, and describes the interests that children may have. Next, it makes the argument that children have a right to a parent, which involves three claims: children have rights; children are appropriate objects of paternalistic care; and for a child's vital interests to be met, she must be cared for, consistently, by only a small number of people. The chapter goes on to discuss how a biological connection between parent and child relates to our account of children's right to a parent, and concludes by looking, briefly, at the implied duty to parent.</p>
This chapter considers familial relationships as obstacles to the realization of egalitarian idea... more This chapter considers familial relationships as obstacles to the realization of egalitarian ideals. It has been argued that the conflict between the family and equality is in fact much less stark than is commonly recognized. Parents and children can enjoy healthy familial relationships, and parents can exercise all the rights needed for those relationships to make their distinctive contribution to well-being, without our having to tolerate anything like the kinds of inequalities of opportunity to which familial interactions currently give rise. This argument, however, still has family values on one side of the line and distributive considerations on the other. The chapter suggests the former be incorporated into the latter, as it were, by treating familial relationship goods as distribuenda: that is, as among the goods that people should have opportunities, perhaps equal opportunities, for.
This chapter sets out the ways in which the family might be thought to pose problems for the libe... more This chapter sets out the ways in which the family might be thought to pose problems for the liberal framework, and defends the adoption of that framework from the objection that it simply cannot do justice to—or, perhaps, fails adequately to care about—the ethically significant phenomena attending parent–child relationships. On the one hand, liberalism takes individuals to be the fundamental objects of moral concern, and the rights it claims people have are primarily rights of individuals over their own lives: the core liberal idea is that it is important for individuals to exercise their own judgment about how they are to live. On the other hand, parental rights are rights over others, they are rights over others who have no realistic exit option, and they are rights over others whose capacity to make their own judgments about how they are to live their lives is no less important than that of the adults raising them.
SEVEN Social justice and the family Harry Brighouse and Adam Swift Introduction The family is a p... more SEVEN Social justice and the family Harry Brighouse and Adam Swift Introduction The family is a problem for any theory of social justice. On the one hand, children born into different families face very unequal prospects. However those prospects are conceivedas chances of ...
This chapter sets out the various kinds of conflict between the value of equality and the value o... more This chapter sets out the various kinds of conflict between the value of equality and the value of those parent–child relationships that constitute the family. It offers two reasons not to pursue fair equality of opportunity all the way. On the one hand, we must be prepared for children of similar talent and ability raised by different parents to enjoy somewhat unfairly unequal prospects of achieving the rewards attached to different jobs, since the alternative would cost too much in terms of familial relationship goods. On the other hand, some unfairness in the distribution of those prospects could be beneficial for those who have unfairly less. In both cases, then, there are conflicts between fair equality of opportunity and other values.
The right to be a parent is a right to a relationship with a child in which one has certain right... more The right to be a parent is a right to a relationship with a child in which one has certain rights with respect to that child. But what are the rights that the right to parent is a right to exercise? Does respecting that right require that parents be permitted to pursue their children's material interests in ways that harm the interests of other children? If so, in which ways and to what extent? This chapter describes this relationship and the goods it contributes to adult lives in enough detail to support the claim that adults have a right to it, but without getting into the details of what precisely the relationship consists in.
<p>The family is justified because it produces certain goods that would otherwise not be av... more <p>The family is justified because it produces certain goods that would otherwise not be available, or, in some cases, would be much more difficult to produce. These goods—familial relationship goods—are enjoyed by children and by the adults who are their parents. This chapter focuses on the goods it produces for children, arguing that their interests are such as to support the claim that children have a right to be raised by parents—in families. First, it defines what we mean by children and childhood. It then explains what interests are, and describes the interests that children may have. Next, it makes the argument that children have a right to a parent, which involves three claims: children have rights; children are appropriate objects of paternalistic care; and for a child's vital interests to be met, she must be cared for, consistently, by only a small number of people. The chapter goes on to discuss how a biological connection between parent and child relates to our account of children's right to a parent, and concludes by looking, briefly, at the implied duty to parent.</p>
This chapter considers familial relationships as obstacles to the realization of egalitarian idea... more This chapter considers familial relationships as obstacles to the realization of egalitarian ideals. It has been argued that the conflict between the family and equality is in fact much less stark than is commonly recognized. Parents and children can enjoy healthy familial relationships, and parents can exercise all the rights needed for those relationships to make their distinctive contribution to well-being, without our having to tolerate anything like the kinds of inequalities of opportunity to which familial interactions currently give rise. This argument, however, still has family values on one side of the line and distributive considerations on the other. The chapter suggests the former be incorporated into the latter, as it were, by treating familial relationship goods as distribuenda: that is, as among the goods that people should have opportunities, perhaps equal opportunities, for.
This chapter sets out the ways in which the family might be thought to pose problems for the libe... more This chapter sets out the ways in which the family might be thought to pose problems for the liberal framework, and defends the adoption of that framework from the objection that it simply cannot do justice to—or, perhaps, fails adequately to care about—the ethically significant phenomena attending parent–child relationships. On the one hand, liberalism takes individuals to be the fundamental objects of moral concern, and the rights it claims people have are primarily rights of individuals over their own lives: the core liberal idea is that it is important for individuals to exercise their own judgment about how they are to live. On the other hand, parental rights are rights over others, they are rights over others who have no realistic exit option, and they are rights over others whose capacity to make their own judgments about how they are to live their lives is no less important than that of the adults raising them.
SEVEN Social justice and the family Harry Brighouse and Adam Swift Introduction The family is a p... more SEVEN Social justice and the family Harry Brighouse and Adam Swift Introduction The family is a problem for any theory of social justice. On the one hand, children born into different families face very unequal prospects. However those prospects are conceivedas chances of ...
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