Give them their rights!

The Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen, and a number childrens' authors were reported in yesterday's Daily Telegraph as complaining that children are being denied their right to a cultural life. They are part of the campaign group Action for Children's Arts.

Under Article 31 of the UN Convention, children have the right to .... participate freely in cultural life and the earts..

They demand that the Government should increase funding to children's arts, require broadcasters to offer programmes of the highest quality and to insists that creativity, play and the arts should be at the heart of the school curriculum. In addition all political parties should explain in general election manifestos how they will meet the right enshrined in Article 31.

Leaving aside how all this can be made operational rather than pious hopes, discussion of what "freely" means, and what other elements of the curriculum already failing to produce educated citizens should be ommitted, there are important principles here.

Above all else is the principle that any right granted to one person or group usually imposes a cost on others,( is the granting of liberty one of the few where its provision merely prevents interference by others?)

Most of us would accept that buildings must be constructed to permit access by people of all sorts of physical condition, and provided with amplification to provide hearing for people of all sorts of hearing abilities, and the majority consents to the extra costs.

But when we have an open ended right, such as "participate freely" there are so many other worthy and conflicting claims on resources, it can be seen that such written rights cannot all be implemented. If the objection is made that this is what we have elected government for, then we raise the possibility of civil disobedience and rebellion if anything is pushed so far as to impose costs on those who are not in sympathy.