I distinguish between three different ideas that have been recently
discussed under the heading of 'the intrinsic goods of childhood':
that childhood is itself intrinsically valuable, that certain goods
are valuable only for children, and that children are being owed other
goods than adults. I then briefly defend the claim the childhood is
intrinsically good. Most of the chapter is dedicated to the analysis,
and rejection, of the claim that certain goods are valuable only for
children. This has …
Read moreI distinguish between three different ideas that have been recently
discussed under the heading of 'the intrinsic goods of childhood':
that childhood is itself intrinsically valuable, that certain goods
are valuable only for children, and that children are being owed other
goods than adults. I then briefly defend the claim the childhood is
intrinsically good. Most of the chapter is dedicated to the analysis,
and rejection, of the claim that certain goods are valuable only for
children. This has implications about how a good society should trade
off economic productivity on the one hand and goods such as play and
unstructured time on the other hand.
