Who is a party to the social government?
November 23, 2008
Who is a party to the social government? Anyone under the age of 18 is considered a minor. These minors are party to the social contract because of their parent/guardian who take on full responsibility for the minors actions. These parents/guardians have an obligation to society to raise a minor to abide laws and social policies so minors are able to grow into responsible law abiding adults. With this said, it is also a given that a minor who is ten thinks very differently from an adult who is twenty five. If a ten year old steals from a store the repercussions are different as opposed to a twenty five year old stealing from a store. In this case, the owner of the store might notify the minor’s parent/guardian and the parent/guardian would have to discipline their child in a way that is appropriate. On the other hand, the adult in this case might receive some type of jail time or a penalty of some sort. With this said, minors are partied to the contract in a limited way, therefore their subjectivity to moral judgment is also limited.
November 23, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Minors are partied to the contract in a limited way but this doesn’t really make their subjectivity to moral judgment limited. I believe that the extent to which they can understand the wrongfulness of their actions is what determines their subjectivity. Say i am 16 and i steal something from a store, at this age i should be rational enough to understand that i am doing something wrong. Although the government imposes less punishment i understand what i am doing and should be held to the same moral standard.