Children are systematically treated differently as political and legal subjects due to their assumed weaknesses, incapacities, and particular needs. How does this differential status fit in with the principles of justice that structure our society, law, and morality? Despite the growth of philosophical research on childhood and children's rights during the last decades, there has been no systematic study on the moral and political status of children in liberal political theory. Childhood in Liberal Theory fills this gap, and offers a novel look at the concept of 'childhood' and children's rights within the tradition of liberal theories of justice. Brando proposes an ambitious deconstruction of the concept of 'childhood', and an Adaptive model of children's rights as the most apt way of including children within liberal discourses on justice.

"This book is a wonderful exploration of the important idea that there is something fundamentally unjust and wrong with treating children differently from adults. To that end Nico Brando challenges the presumptions of contemporary liberal egalitarianism in making that distinction, defends what he sees as the proper understanding of 'childhood', argues for the best way to accommodate children within a comprehensive liberal theory of justice, and shows what practical difference his own approach will make to the lives of children. This is a highly original, rich, thoughtful, and robustly argued contribution to the literature of moral and political theory devoted to childhood and children." - David Archard, Emeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy, Queen's University, Belfast