[KJacob]

I'm of a view that none of our institutions would last long if we didn't believe some obligations enforceable.

I need a better understand of what you consider "obligations". So far you have only mentioned parenting. Give me a list of what you feel people should be obligated to do and I will answer.

[rogerv]

I'm not sure I have a list, just some intuitions on how this works that need to be fleshed out. I like where Kant starts. He finds we have a basic obligation to show respect for persons, that involves, among other things, keeping our promises, not lying, not treating other people as simply means to our ends but as people who have ends of their own. His list of duties includes helping others when you can (duties of beneficence, Ross calls them), to develop our own talents, and to not commit suicide. This is a very partial list, but certainly goes beyond parental duties in a number of directions. Let's start with an easy one--duty to perform contracts. People are free to enter into, or refrain from entering into contracts. But once in a contract, they are not free to fail to perform. If those are not enforced, if we allow fraud and cheating, we are all worse off. Trust should be the norm, but in some place in society, trust is not enough. We have enforceable duty.