Do ANDROIDS and KITTENS Have Rights? Rights THEORY Revisited | HN122
Economist Bob Murphy is back and he and Adam are going to solve the pesky problem of children and animals and natural rights. What do we owe our children? Our pets? Our soon-to-be-created digital AGI neighbors? How should we think about such thorny things? 00:00 — Intro. Since Tehran ain't been nuked, let's talk about kids 'n' kittens! 02:30 — In a "free society" how would the legal structure handle thorny issues around children and pets? What was Murray Rothbard's approach in his book Ethics of Liberty? Do parents "own" their children? 13:20 — Bob has a framework that works better: Trustee/Trustor/Beneficiary (BMS episode linked below). 16:33 — When can the trustee position be changed? What of so-called "baby markets"? 26:40 — Two tales of unenforceable gambling debts. 31:18 — We know the mechanics of Child Protective Services et al in a statist world, but how would such things work in a free society? 41:46 — A brief discussion of an article (linked below) on this subject by Walter Block et al. 47:23 — How do these principles relate to animals? What about aliens? What about robots? How do our intuitions compare to a proper libertarian legal framework vis-a-vis these beings? Also, how should we think about factory farming and veganism? 1:01:44 — As usual, the conversation devolves into terrorist chickens, college pranks and UN gulags for meat-eaters. 1:05:47 — Outro. Thanks for watching Haman Nature! Murray Rothbard book mentioned: The Ethics of Liberty Bob Murphy Show episode mentioned: A Modest Proposal for Children in Libertarian LawWalter Block et al article mentioned: The Natural Rights of ChildrenAdam on X: @Rerazer Bob on X: @BobMurphyEcon The Bob Murphy Show: The Human Action podcast: Adam's other podcast: Natural Order Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hamannature.substack.com/subscribe