This volume contributes to the ongoing interdisciplinary controversies about the moral, legal and political status of children and childhood. It comprises essays by scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds on diverse theoretical problems and public policy controversies that bear upon different facets of the life of children in contemporary liberal democracies. The book is divided into three major parts that are each organized around a common general theme. The first part ("Children and Childhood: Autonomy, Well-Being and Paternalism") focusses on key concepts of an ethics of childhood. Part two ("Justice for Children") contains chapters that are concerned with the topics of justice for children and justice during childhood. The third part ("The Politics of Childhood") deals with issues that concern the importance of `childhood as a historically contingent political category and its relevance for the justification and practical design of political processes and institutions that affect children and families.

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Part I Children and Childhood: Autonomy, Well-Being and Paternalism.- 1 Constructing Children's Rights; Colin Macleod.- 2 Future-Oriented Paternalism and the Intrinsic Goods of Childhood; Alexander Bagattini.- 3 Who gets to decide? Children's competence, parental authority, and informed consent; Allyn Fives.- 4 Capacity, Consistency and the Young; Nicholas Munn.- 5 Eating Disorders in Minors and the Role of the Media. An Ethical Investigation; Christoph Schickhardt.- Part II Justice for Children.- 6 Equality of what for children; Lars Lindblom.- 7 Social Policy and Justice for Children; Gottfried Schweiger.- 8 The Politics of the Level Playing Field. Equality of Opportunity and Educational Justice; Johannes Drerup.- 9 Child psychological abuse, public health and social justice: the Cinderella Law debate; Mar Cabezas.- 10 Epistemic injustice and children's well-being; Christina Schües.- Part III The Politics of Childhood.- 11 Cultural Minorities and the Lives of Children; Josephine Nielsen.- 12 Civic Education: Political or Comprehensive?; Elizabeth Edenberg.- 13 I can't tell you exactly who I am : The creation of childhood and adulthood in F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story The curious case of Benjamin Button; Nicole Balzer.- 14 Education for Autonomy in the Context of Consumer Culture; Philip Knobloch.- 15 My Place? Catholic Social Teaching and the Politics of Geborgenheit; Clemens Sedmak.- About the Authors.