Children cannot be subject to social contracts. Anyone under the age of 18 is legally bounded by their parents therefore, they are unable to sign any contract or be under a contract without the consent of their parents or guardian. This does not mean that they are not subject to moral judgment. There have been some cases where a child has murdered someone and has been tried as an adult. Age cannot be discriminated in regards to moral judgement whereas age is relative when it comes to contracts.
November 25, 2008 at 10:47 am
I agree that children cannot be held morally responsible for breaking the social contract, but I think that theres a certain age at which they have the mental capabilities that enable them to understand the social contracts. An 17 year old grant it is not legal, but certainly has the ability to analyze and interpret our social norms.