Paedophilia: The Radical Case

1980 book cover by Peter Owen Press

Paedophilia: The Radical Case was first published in England by Peter Owen Press (London, 1980), and then America by LGBTQ+ press Alyson Publications (Boston, 1982), with a foreword by Gay historian Prof. Hubert Kennedy. It is the first book written by Thomas O'Carroll (b. 1945), the most well-known Chairperson of the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) in the UK, an organization originally founded in Scotland by Gay activists Michael Hanson and Ian Campbell Dunn.

O'Carroll presents an ethical case for the social acceptance of non-violent, mutually willing sexual relationships between legally defined adults and children. He draws on a wide arrays of academic sources from disciplines such as anthropology, sexology, and the philosophy of children's rights, to argue his case. The author outlines PIE's proposals for law reform, including an effective age of consent at 12 years for intercourse, based on a complaints system (similar to a system which existed in the Netherlands until 2002). The book contains a history of the 'paedophile' / intergenerational rights movement in Britain and abroad (especially the Netherlands), as well as attacks on PIE by the media and far-right activists.

Described as "a well researched and articulate book" by Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger (Guardian, 14 March 1981), this first major work by O'Carroll divided reviewers sharply. In the academic world, it has stood the test of time with over 190 Google Scholar citations by 2025. For many years, it was a recommended text for postgraduates at Cambridge University's Institute of Criminology.

A major discussion of O'Carroll's book can be found in Li, West & Woodhouse, Children's Sexual Encounters With Adults (1990), where Criminologist Chin-Keung Li contrasted O'Carroll's book with arguments from famous CSA researcher David Finkelhor's classic article What's wrong with sex between adults and children? (1979). As has been summarized and commented on by subsequent scholars, Li found flaws in each, and proposed a five-point compromise between the two perspectives.

In 2005, the ethical underpinning of O'Carroll's writing received critical attention in Sex from Plato to Paglia: A Philosophical Encyclopedia. In their entry on Pedophilia, Philosophy Professor Igor Primoratz expanded on arguments they had made in a 1999 article for Public Affairs Quarterly. In this 2005 encyclopedia entry, Primoratz discussed the challenges O'Carroll makes to the concept of childhood sexual "innocence", the view that early sexual experience harms children's development, and the claim that "informed consent", as opposed to simple willingness, is an ethical necessity for engagement in sexual acts with others. Primoratz concludes that, "If sexual activity cannot be shown to be different to other activities in which adults become involved with children, then the moral and legal standing of pedophilia depends solely on whether it is harmful to the children."

The pre-publication endorsements for the British edition of the Radical Case notably include early British gay academic and pioneer of sociology Dr. Ken Plummer, The Director of Education for The National Institute of Social Work Peter Righton, famous campaigner for homosexual rights Michael Schofield, and Principal Lecturer of Social Work John Hart.

Gallery

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  1980 blurb
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  Features Ken Plummer, Peter Righton, Michael Schofield, and John Hart.

External Links

• Paedophilia: The Radical Case - Also available via Libgen.