Freedom from the power of others begins with rights, and the most fundamental right is not about how we act, but how we are created. Children’s birthrights determine whether they are empowered by the conditions in which they are born and raised and define their level of influence relative to others. Freedom is not defined by artificial borders on a map but by the true boundaries of self-determination—who controls the world we must share. Freedom is compromised when people fear their fellow citizens, lack real influence over political representatives, suffer from human-induced climate crises, are denied access to nature, or are economically controlled by employers.
The First Obligation: Future Generations
Our primary obligations are not to constitutions, governments, or the wealthy, but to future generations—children whose empowerment gives legitimacy to those institutions. That means prioritizing funding for responsible family planning, ensuring that every child is born into conditions that allow them to offset their fundamental political influence equally. Those who reject these obligations deny justice to future generations and should be held accountable for reparations fraud. How else should we address a system that makes some children billionaires while others suffer and die?
Legal Responsibility and Accountability
Do existing fraud laws address this injustice? Laws must be interpreted in ways that legitimize their authority. The legal areas needed to advance Fair Start reforms—constitutional law, fraud prevention, consumer protection, child welfare, environmental law, nationality, democracy, and civil rights—must be applied to ensure true inclusion and representation. Governments and the wealthy cannot evade liability by writing self-serving laws. Treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights must be enforced by the ultimate authority: the people.
The Power of Language
How do we drive this change? Language matters. True freedom is impossible without honest communication about how we become legally obligated to others as they enter the world. If we are to be truly self-determining, we must communicate in ways that reflect our obligations to future generations. How can we claim to uphold fundamental rights without ensuring that children are born into conditions that respect those rights? Those who have benefited from past injustices should redirect their resources to ensure fair starts in life for all children—the most just and effective solution to today’s crises.
The Myth of Philanthropy and Social Justice
Neither business nor government has historically defined social justice ideals—wealthy philanthropists have. By framing reproductive autonomy in a way that isolates women, ignores child equity, and promotes unsustainable growth, they created a false reference point for self-determination. This distortion has fueled a climate crisis that has killed millions of children of color while enriching privileged families.
This false narrative removed freedom from its measurable share in democracy, converting it into wealth. The illusion of progress has upheld a system that benefits white children at the expense of marginalized communities, undermining civil rights and anti-apartheid movements. If the Three-Fifths Compromise in U.S. history devalued Black lives, today’s generational wealth disparities—violating enforceable children’s rights—are now causing the deaths of millions in a climate crisis driven primarily by white wealth.
A Path Forward: Fair Start Entitlements
We can secure children’s rights through parenting delay payments, structured inversely to wealth and income. Given the systemic injustices at play, the right to access wealth for these entitlements supersedes current ownership claims—especially since much of this wealth was built through unsustainable growth and externalized costs that violated children’s birthrights.
The Broken Foundation Analogy
Imagine society as a crumbling floor. Some individuals—those born into privilege—insist on continuing as usual, benefiting from an arbitrary birth lottery while others fall through, dragging many down with them. By refusing to rebuild this foundation, these free riders endanger us all.
True self-determination requires that we ask fundamental questions about how we ensure each new generation is empowered equitably. Without a just system of creation and development, new generations are either disempowered or impose unchecked power over others—worsening environmental destruction and social inequality. If we truly seek freedom, we must start by ensuring every child is given an equal and fair start in life.
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