Comments (23)

• J Cortez

  I haven't read the book yet, but I agree with the premise very much.

  Published: January 7, 2009 10:35 AM

• William

  The review mentions that books by Rothbard and Hans Hoppe discuss this tendency toward longer childhood and decivilization--does anyone know if there are any other resources (books, lectures, articles, whatever), that talk about this in more detail from an Austrian perspective? I'm fascinated by the topic and would love to read more about it, especially as it relates to methods of educating children.

  Published: January 7, 2009 11:52 AM

• Ohhh Henry

  For a Nanny State to continue growing, it must infantilize an ever greater number of the citizens under its jurisdiction. Hence, encouragement for longer and longer schooling, more and more restrictions on younger adults such as graduated driving licenses, increased legal age of consent, etc.

  While I realize that the stage of adolescence is celebrated in the USA more than anywhere else and it may even have been invented in the USA, I hear that in the EU with its greater unemployment and more highly developed welfare states, it is now very common for adults to live with their parents well into their 30s and live on either the dole or on endless student subsidies.

  Of course what begins as an effort to turn the country into a gigantic kindergarten class, when it runs into the simple facts of mammalian behavior and the laws of economics (which are of course derived from the former), will inevitably degenerate into something resembling a giant prison.

  Published: January 7, 2009 2:00 PM

• Araglin

  William,

  Another interesting (albeit somewhat flawed IMO) Austrian account of the de-civilizing effects of government intervention, which tends to encourage an increase in the prevailing rate of time preference and/or to shift resources from those with lower rates of time preference to those with higher rates, is the following talk by Shawn Ritenour entitled "The 'Cultural Critique' of Capitalism":

  http://mises.org/multimedia/mp3/LibertyPower98/02_LibertyPower_Ritenour.mp3

  Lamentably, once such shifts in time preference have occurred, then (what's left of) the market mechanism will bring about the predictable effect of giving these new semi-infantilized consumers what they "want" good and hard. And thus giving rise to those phenomena which are the fodder for various cultural critiques of the market itself as being responsible for eroding cultural standards and rewarding those who maximize profits by producing consumerist crap for "mass man"...

  Cheers,
  Araglin

  Published: January 7, 2009 5:12 PM

• Bruce Koerber

  Civilization is very much the same, it goes through stages of infancy, childhood, adolescence and maturity. Humanity as a whole has evolved and is now at the threshold of maturity.

  In the midst of adolescent turmoil a youth can be influenced in many different ways. Will the pathway be a noble one or an ignoble one?

  Will the pathway be a drug addiction like Keynesianism? Will the pathway be one of respecting private property like classical liberalism? Will the pathway be the adoption of some stoic interpretation of right and wrong leading to an empirical and sterile neocon view?

  Most of the time even the pathway of drug abuses does not end in death but rather it eventually results in a return to a normal, mature life although there may be many secondary consequences that hinder the potential degree of prosperity.

  That which is compatible with a peaceful, contractual and just civilization is classical liberalism. That is the mature state for human civilization. Education about the principles of classical liberalism and about ethics will help guide the vulnerable adolescent societies towards maturity.

  The Mises Institute and the Campaign For Liberty and LewRockwell.com and Ron Paul are the best of mentors!

  Published: January 7, 2009 6:00 PM

• Lester Hunt

  The best book on child-rearing from a libertarian perspective that I know of is "Super Parents, Super Children," be Frances Kendall. My son, now 19 yrs. old, has abundant reason to be grateful that I read that book 19 years ago!

  Published: January 7, 2009 6:54 PM

• Miraj Patel

  As an 18 year old, sometimes I do wish people would look at me more as an "adult" than a teen because some tend to dismiss the ideas of people my age based on our age, not what we actually know.

  Published: January 7, 2009 7:32 PM

• Paul

  If you or any of your friends are still in high school, you're not an adult.

  Published: January 7, 2009 7:54 PM

• anon

  People tend to conflate adulthood with maturity... some adults never reach that level.

  This somewhat feels like cherry picking of facts, and an exercise of sophistry i.m.o. But in the end that's just another opinion - like yours.

  Published: January 7, 2009 8:09 PM

• anon

  "But, unfortunately, Epstein believes young (and old) people should be given rights only if they can pass competency test."

  Unfortunately?

  With every right comes responsibility - not only to yourself, but to others. It is not emphasized enough - even on this website - that there is no such thing as "freedom" without responsibility. I certainly wouldn't mind that individuals have to demonstrate a certain degree of responsibility and competence before certain rights (e.g. driving) are extended.

  Published: January 7, 2009 8:17 PM

• Miraj Patel

  @Paul Actually I am in college, but even some high schoolers have the maturity and intelligence levels of adults.

  Published: January 7, 2009 8:43 PM

• Miraj Patel

  Just another quick point: what I was really trying to say in my original comment was that people should be more open to at least listening to what younger people have to say. If you don't want to call me an adult, fine, but at least hear me out when I say something.

  Published: January 7, 2009 9:07 PM

• Rodney Miller

  I sense that if such findings like what's in this book were actually taken seriously we could expect to see a gradual fall in illegitimacy rates.

  And what the hell ever happened to teenage marriage anyway???

  I have a great many obligations that I'm keeping until then, but current laws an education set-ups just make it harder to fulfill them. :(

  Published: January 7, 2009 9:31 PM

• Gil

  Was it kinda amusing that Ohh Henry was being more melodramatic than Robert Epstein? Well I s'pose people in times past had to work a lot hard, couldn't expect to live very long and therefore had no choice but having to responsible from an early age. I hear being 50 years old in ye olde society made a person 'ancient'.
  

  Published: January 8, 2009 5:36 AM

• Ohhh Henry

  By a happy coincidence I just read this in the Rothbard essay on Etienne de la Boetie posted today at LRC. I think it explains very clearly why tyrants would mold their subjects into a state of perpetual childhood:

  In childhood, presumably because the rational faculties are not yet developed, we obey our parents; but when grown, we should follow our own reason, as free individuals. As La Boétie puts it: "If we led our lives according to the ways intended by nature and the lessons taught by her, we should be intuitively obedient to our parents; later we should adopt reason as our guide and become slaves to nobody."

  This is how canis domestica was bred by humans. The natural traits of a puppy are friendliness and submission, whereas adult wild dogs are significantly more snarly and independent. The process of domestication consisted of selecting dogs which have adult bodies but infantile social traits.

  Published: January 8, 2009 10:38 AM

• Heather

  I find this topic to be confusing. I don't understand what is meant by the "freedom" of things like teenage marriage. My understanding is that when 12 year old girls were married off, it was out of financial necessity or some oppressive tradition, not because she was mature enough to chose a life mate to love and respect. I don't belive those kind of circumstances are necessary to mature a person, much less make for a happy and satisfying life. Not to mention shorter life spans also made for necessary shorter childhoods. These are not viewed as good things that we should return to, in my eyes. I was under the impression that the reason free-markets and individual freedoms exist is to promote technology for happier and easier lives, and this book and these comments seem contrary to that. My gut feeling is that this is very backwards, but I'm having a hard time articulating it.

  No, I don't believe the state should indoctrinate and incubate our children by federal schools and laws. But there is a difference in being free to be an innocent child and to explore your intellect and creativity and in being forced (for whatever reason) to toil or to marry or anything else "adult" that might be forced upon a person. There doesn't seem to be any distinction here.

  Published: January 8, 2009 1:11 PM

• William

  Heather,

  There's a difference between arranged/forced marriages at a young age and what has happened in American society over the last several decades--people are waiting longer to get married. I think the point is that people used to take on significant responsibilities earlier in life, and now they're trying to extend their "freedom" (actually, their childhood and immaturity).

  Published: January 8, 2009 4:08 PM

• Pat

  Heather, I see what you are saying and it is worth pondering. I don't think it was the intention of the writer of the article to advocate for a return to the old days where children would be forced to work and all (At least implicitly. But I could be wrong).

  I would argue that the guardians of the children (e.g.: parents) should be able to decide for the kids. Plus, I doubt children would be offered every job (e.g.: brain surgeon) since it would require some training and mental capacities that are rarely found in kids. Also, forcing a kid into marriage (If you mean against their will) is no different than forcing a woman or man into marriage which is coercion. Same thing with labor. I wouldn't be opposed to a kid working but it has to be something s/he decides on her/his own. Of course, the parents or guardians may persuade her/him otherwise.

  Published: January 8, 2009 4:39 PM

• Henry Miller

  Actually Louis Braille was cooped up in special needs classes. The educators didn't care about the needs of the blind so he had to go around them to develop his braille system. For many years he and fellow students were using it in private but would get in trouble anytime they were caught using it.

  Sounds like nothing much has changed...

  Published: January 8, 2009 4:41 PM

• James R

  I can destroy Epstein's argument with two words: prefrontal cortex.

  The prefrontal cortex controls what are referred to as executive functions: resolving conflicting thoughts, making moral choices (right versus wrong; good versus evil), projecting consequences, and governing social control.

  In the past 6 million years of evolution, the prefrontal cortex has expanded far more in size than the rest of the brain (sixfold versus threefold). Today, the human prefrontal cortex occupies a far greater proportion of the brain than any other animal.

  We consider animals to be adults when physical growth, physical coordination, and sexual development is complete. But we consider people to be adults when they are able to exercise the executive functions governed by the prefrontal cortex. And in that very important sense, we aren't truly adults until age 25 or so.

  This is because in humans, from about age 13 to about age 25, major brain development and reorganization occurs. Neural pathways that are used infrequently are pruned; oft-used pathways are reinforced. While the parts of the brain responsible for physical coordination, emotion and motivation mature quickly, the prefrontal cortex doesn't fully mature until the end of this process.

  Because our brains "optimize" themselves for the tasks that we perform during these critical years, this is why it is so important to "exercise" our brains as much as we can during this window of time: to think; to study; to read; to play; to philosophize; to appreciate literature, music, and the arts. If we spend these years attempting to be robust and capable people, then chances are, we will become robust and capable people. I haven't read Epstein's book, but inasmuch as he makes that argument, I agree with him.

  But because the development of the prefrontal cortex lags behind physical development, the 13 to 25 age range is also a time during which we are more likely to be impulsive, exercise poor judgement, and fail to perceive consequences of our actions. We are also more vulnerable to the immediate and long-term effects of drugs and alcohol during this time. The laws and attitudes of our society reflect this. If Epstein is arguing that we should consider a human to be psychologically an adult once physically maturity is complete, then he is simply ignorant of the biology of human brain development.

  Published: January 8, 2009 6:53 PM

• newson

  james r says:
  "exercise" our brains as much as we can during this window of time: to think; to study; to read; to play; to philosophize; to appreciate literature, music, and the arts."

  this seems just to be your value judgement. what about those not interested in these intellectual skills? why should they be dragged along for the ride?

  anyway, the laws of society patently do not mirror brain development as you maintain; the infantilization of society is quite a recent development.

  Published: January 9, 2009 12:11 AM

• David C

  Lester said:

  'The best book on child-rearing from a libertarian perspective that I know of is "Super Parents, Super Children," be Frances Kendall. My son, now 19 yrs. old, has abundant reason to be grateful that I read that book 19 years ago!'

  Is that the same Frances Kendall who is an MP for the Democratic Alliance in South Africa, and who formerly headed the Federal Party in South Africa?

  Both she and her husband, Leon Louw, are regarded here as fine Libertarians. Leon heads up the SA Free Market Foundation.

  Published: January 13, 2009 3:51 AM

• Marc Sheffner

  The same point was made by John Gatto in The Underground History of American Education (tho this point is just a small part of this book; see Chapter 1, especially the sections on Braddock, Farragut, Ben Franklin and Washington).

  Published: February 23, 2009 12:12 AM