The Child's Right to an Open Future?

A Philosophical Examination of Social Justice and Child Poverty

“…The adequate thresholds under such circumstances can be set according to two principles: on the one hand, we have to ask what is possible in these states and what can they provide for children without violating other claims of justice. This speaks against too high standards for assessing justice for children, because we can never provide all children with a maximum in well-being and well-becoming for at least two reasons (Arneson and Shapiro 1996;Archard 2004, 62-63;Mills 2003): First, it is too demanding for those responsible for the upbringing of children.…”

“…Joel Feinberg has prominently argued that children should have a right to an open future (Feinberg 1980). This claim, however, should not be interpreted in terms of maximization (Mills 2003): No one can ever provide a child with a fully open future, because growing up and developing functionings and capabilities always closes the door to other options. The life course is in many ways structured, not only by parents but by the whole environment and the state (Kohli 2007), and nothing more can be demanded from parents than to help their children develop into autonomous beings who have a broad range of options, selected on the available knowledge at that time.…”

New Perspectives on Paternalism and Health Care

“…The deaf and short-statured community has its doors open for these children and is willing to provide them with a place in which they will not be excluded or discriminated against. Furthermore, one could argue that a life without any restrictions is also impossible (Mills 2003 ). There was no thinker who made this clearer than Martin Heidegger.…”

Éthique et anomalies de développement génitosexuel

“…Mais ce droit a été critiqué sur les quatre points suivants [31] : • ne pas conduire l'enfant à sélectionner des options revient à lui faire vivre une expérience superficielle où rien n'acquiert de l'importance.…”