The Currency of Children’s Justice

Abstract

This chapter explores different theories of advantage in the context of childhood. It argues that both subjective theories of advantage, which measure mental states like happiness, and resource theories must both be rejected. Resource based theories are attractive in the case of adulthood when a person can rightly be held responsible for their choices but cannot capture important threats to children’s interests. In their place I propose a wellbeing theory drawing on Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities view.