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Should Democracy Grow up? Children and Voting Rights
Wann wird die Demokratie erwachsen? Kinder und das Wahlrecht
[journal article]
Abstract
This paper examines whether or not children’s continued electoral exclusion is morally defensible. Ultimately, there is a deep tension between the egalitarian presuppositions of democracy and our apparent unwillingness to grant children voting rights. Unless a plausible distinction can be found, the... view more
This paper examines whether or not children’s continued electoral exclusion is morally defensible. Ultimately, there is a deep tension between the egalitarian presuppositions of democracy and our apparent unwillingness to grant children voting rights. Unless a plausible distinction can be found, then, between adults and children that also tracks the underlying reasons for endorsing democracy in the first place, the continued political disenfranchisement of our youngest citizens is shown for what it is: social injustice. The paper begins by exploring some of the conceptual difficulties that childhood creates in relation to democracy. It then assesses the implications of two very different approaches to democracy for children's voting rights: proceduralism and a child’s supposed right to an open future.... view less
Keywords
democracy; theory of democracy; morality; conception of democracy; childhood; child; right to vote; justice; children's rights; suffrage; inequality
Classification
Philosophy, Ethics, Religion
Law
Document language
English
Publication Year
2009
Page/Pages
p. 133-139
Journal
Intergenerational Justice Review (2009) 4
Issue topic
Children's and Young People's Rights - with a Focus on the Right to Vote
DOI
https://doi.org/10.24357/igjr.4.4.510
ISSN
2190-6335
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed