Rand on Children's Rights


Peter

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Ayn advises children to run away as soon as they can? What an odd thing to think . . . and say!

Semper cogitans fidele,

Peter Taylor

Arnold Baise on the old objectivism@wetheliving.com wrote in 2005:

At her 1974 lecture at the Ford Hall Forum, Rand was asked about the rights of children. I have a recording of the question and answer session, so here is a verbatim transcript of her answer:

Q: Do the rights of a child differ from the rights of an adult?

A: Yes and no, from two different aspects. Yes [she meant No], in the sense that the child has the right to life, and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, except that all those rights are based on a man's rational knowledge and understanding. An infant cannot earn his own sustenance, nor can a child exercise his rights and know what the pursuit of happiness means, nor know what freedom is and how to use it. All human rights depend on his nature as a rational being. Therefore the child has to wait until he has developed his mind and acquired enough knowledge to be able to come into full independent exercise of his rights. While he is a child, he has to be supported by his parents. Neither he nor I nor you nor Nature gives him any choice about it, or rather none of us can do anything because this is a fact of nature. Proclaiming some kind of right of childhood isn't going to create those rights. Rights are a concept based on reality. Therefore a parent would not have the right to starve his child, to neglect him, to injure him physically or to kill him. There the government has to protect the child just like any other citizen. But the child cannot claim for himself the rights of an adult, simply because he is not able, he is not competent to exercise them. He has to depend on his parents, and if he doesn't like them, then run away from home as early as you can earn your living, if the government will permit it.

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  • 2 years later...

Ayn advises children to run away as soon as they can? What an odd thing to think . . . and say!

Semper cogitans fidele,

Peter Taylor

Arnold Baise on the old objectivism@wetheliving.com wrote in 2005:

At her 1974 lecture at the Ford Hall Forum, Rand was asked about the rights of children. I have a recording of the question and answer session, so here is a verbatim transcript of her answer:

Q: Do the rights of a child differ from the rights of an adult?

A: Yes and no, from two different aspects. Yes [she meant No], in the sense that the child has the right to life, and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, except that all those rights are based on a man's rational knowledge and understanding. An infant cannot earn his own sustenance, nor can a child exercise his rights and know what the pursuit of happiness means, nor know what freedom is and how to use it. All human rights depend on his nature as a rational being. Therefore the child has to wait until he has developed his mind and acquired enough knowledge to be able to come into full independent exercise of his rights. While he is a child, he has to be supported by his parents. Neither he nor I nor you nor Nature gives him any choice about it, or rather none of us can do anything because this is a fact of nature. Proclaiming some kind of right of childhood isn't going to create those rights. Rights are a concept based on reality. Therefore a parent would not have the right to starve his child, to neglect him, to injure him physically or to kill him. There the government has to protect the child just like any other citizen. But the child cannot claim for himself the rights of an adult, simply because he is not able, he is not competent to exercise them. He has to depend on his parents, and if he doesn't like them, then run away from home as early as you can earn your living, if the government will permit it.

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Hmmmm...maybe she did teach us something after all...or knew what we were doing. ~Cathy~ p.s. when did she say this?
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