In this character of the universal family, it has the duty and the right, against the arbitrary will and contingency of the parents, to have oversight and influence over upbringing, insofar as it relates to the capacity to become a member of society — chiefly, when it is to be completed not by the parents themselves, but by others — and likewise, insofar as common arrangements can be made for this, to institute them.
The boundary between the rights of parents and those of civil society is very difficult to draw here. Parents usually suppose that, with regard to upbringing, they have full freedom and can do whatever they please. For all the publicness of education, the main opposition usually comes from the parents, and it is they who cry out and rail against teachers and institutions, because their own preference sets itself against these. Nevertheless, society has a right to proceed here according to its tested views, to compel parents to send their children to school, to have them vaccinated against smallpox, and so on. The disputes that exist in France between the demand for free instruction, that is, for the preference of the parents, and the oversight of the state belong here.
§ 239: Society and upbringing
Society is now like a big family. So it also has a say in upbringing.
Where exactly?
Where it is about becoming a member of society. Above all, when others raise the child, not the parents themselves. Then society may supervise and step in. And it may create shared facilities, such as schools.
Where is the limit?
It is hard to draw. Parents often think they have full freedom in upbringing. Most resistance to public education comes from them. They complain about teachers and schools, because these go against their own whims.
Still, society may act on insights that it has tested. It may force parents to send their children to school. Or to have them vaccinated against smallpox.
Summary: In upbringing, society has duties and rights against the whims of the parents. It may make school a duty and enforce vaccination. The exact limit is hard to draw.
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