Friday 12th November

This week, Kara will present “You’re not the boss of me!”: How do we allocate rights between parents, children, and the state?

The relationship between parent and child is often fraught with conflicts of interest, preference and obligation. For reasons both practical and philosophical, society gives many decision rights to parents regarding their children’s education, health, and social environment, among others. When the interests of the parents and the child conflict, what criteria should we use in allocating decision rights? What is the appropriate role of the state in mediating that conflict of interest? Furthermore, the state is often not an uninterested party in matters concerning children’s upbringing. To use a gratuitous military metaphor, when the battleground for the fight between social welfare and individual liberty is a child, what should be the rules of engagement?

Some interesting issues:

Naming (e.g. the brothers named Winner and Loser)

Education (compulsory attendance, homeschooling)

Health (right to refuse treatment, notification requirements)

Removal (Type I vs. Type II errors)

A few articles just to get you thinking:

Naming: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6939112.stm

Health: http://articles.cnn.com/2009-05-26/us/minnesota.forced.chemo_1_chemotherapy-alternative-medicine-daniel-hauser?_s=PM:US

Removal: http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8928000/8928337.stm