May 24, 2026

An AI narration of the article 'A Critique of Rothbard's Theory Of Parental Ownership' by Jake Desyllas.

Self-ownership is a foundational principle of libertarian philosophy — but does it extend to children? Murray Rothbard rejected outright ownership of children, yet defended a "limited" parental ownership on homesteading grounds. This essay traces the contradiction in Rothbard's position and argues the correct framing: parents hold obligations to their children, not ownership rights, and children are self-owners from the moment they are created.

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction
1:35 Rothbard's Conflicting Arguments on Parental Ownership
4:47 Individuals Cannot Be Homesteaded
7:33 Rothbard's Two Models Of Limited Parental Ownership
9:57 What Was Rothbard Trying To Achieve?
13:30 Parental Ownership Rights Are Merely Asserted
14:45 The Core Premise At Fault
15:34 The Correct Formulation Of The Parental Role

First published at https://www.jakedesyllas.com/blog/2024/12/29/a-critique-of-rothbards-theory-of-parental-ownership on 29 December 2024.