What Do We Owe to Poor Families?

This essay argues that when there is a moral duty to procreate, nonprocreators owe assistance in the task of providing for children, even if their presence renders nonprocreators worse off. When new children bring benefits to nonprocreators, they have a duty of reciprocity owed to cooperating parent...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Richard J. Arneson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universitat Pompeu Fabra 2015-09-01
Series:Law, Ethics and Philosophy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://raco.cat/index.php/LEAP/article/view/297539
Description
Summary:This essay argues that when there is a moral duty to procreate, nonprocreators owe assistance in the task of providing for children, even if their presence renders nonprocreators worse off. When new children bring benefits to nonprocreators, they have a duty of reciprocity owed to cooperating parents. If there is a moral duty to provide meaningful work opportunities, especially to the worse off, we have special duties to help poor people enjoy opportunities for the meaningful work of raising children. Given the benefits of stable families for both their adult and child members, justice requires facilitating the enjoyment of stable faily life by poor people.
ISSN:2341-1465