Jul 26, 2026

An AI narration of the article 'A Critique of George H. Smith's Theory of Parental Obligations' by Jake Desyllas.

George H. Smith wrote more about children's rights than almost any other libertarian, yet when he came to set out his own theory of the parental role he advocated a version of parenting as a voluntary social contract between parents and society at large. In this episode, Jake examines the argument Smith made in his 2013 Cato Institute essay, shows why it cannot account for any enforceable duty that parents owe their children, and asks why Smith reached for this flawed theory in the first place, despite being aware of the rival causal theory of parental responsibility. The conjecture: Smith's prior commitment to defending abortion ruled out the one theory that would have served him best. Another case study in how support for abortion has corrupted libertarian theory.

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction
1:20 Smith's Theory
4:27 Smith's Motivation

First published at https://www.jakedesyllas.com/blog/2025/9/3/a-critique-of-george-h-smiths-theory-of-parental-obligations on 3 September 2025.