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What Does a Fair Society Owe Children and Their Parents?
Alstott, Anne
Alstott, Anne
Abstract
What role do-and should-parents play in a fair society, taking the term fair society in a Rawlsian sense? Over time, our society's demands on parents have steeply increased, while the economic rewards of child-rearing have diminished. At one time, children were an emotional and economic bonus, providing workers for the farm or factory as well as security in old-age. For today's parents, in contrast, child-rearing is a one-way obligation: parents spend time and money preparing their offspring for modern life, without expecting much other than love in return.