From the Journal of Libertarian Studies.
Abstract
This article examines four competing philosophical theories of the parental role within a libertarian framework: parental ownership, parenting as charity, parenting as voluntary social contract, and causal parental responsibility. It critically analyzes each theory, evaluating its logical implications—particularly concerning the legitimacy of enforceable parental obligations—and its compatibility with libertarian principles. The article argues that the first three theories are unsound and incompatible with libertarianism. In contrast, it defends the theory of causal parental responsibility as the only sound framework consistent with libertarian philosophy, grounding enforceable parental obligations in the creation of peril. This analysis seeks to resolve long-standing debates and establish a coherent libertarian theory of parental obligation.
Read the full article at the JLS.
Selection:
The theory of causal parental responsibility argues that obligations can come from a different basis than merely the act of creation, the fact of a child’s helplessness, or any voluntary agreement. The core argument is as follows:
1. People are responsible for the reasonably foreseeable consequences of their actions, whether intended or not.
2. As a consequence of creating a child, parents have put another human being (the child) in a state of peril.
3. Children cannot consent to being born.
4. Since the child did not create their own state of peril nor consent to it, the child’s peril is entirely the responsibility of the parents.
5. Therefore, parents have a positive obligation to do whatever is necessary to remove the child from a state of peril, since not doing so would constitute an act of aggression as a form of tort.
Parental obligation does not arise through contract, but rather as a result of the parents’ actions being causally responsible for the peril that the child faces. Even if the parents did not intend to create a child (and even if they took the precaution of using contraception), creating a life was a foreseeable risk that they are responsible for. …
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