I've been reading a lot of mutualist literature lately and finding that it coheres nicely with my own intuitions; but what I don't understand is how childrearing is meant to be done, how animal rights will be protected, and so on. Some sentient beings are simply not capable of advocating for their own welfare, nor of making contracts and participating as equal players in the market, yet they have the same right to equal freedom as anyone else.

I've seen some stuff from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries claiming that children will be the property of their parents! until they come of age, but that's blatantly contrary to the anarchist ideal, and not clearly defined anyway.

As someone raised by narcissists, I know that parents cannot simply universally be trusted to know or do what is best for their children; and similarly we know that animals are consistently exploited and abused all over the world, most egregiously by the factory farm industry; and I happen to know of at least one "nonprofit" legally employing disabled people at far below minimum wage, which is imo blatant exploitation.

I fail to see how a free market with mutual banking and occupancy and use, by itself, would resolve any of these things. At least it won't make them any worse, but I think that's a rather low bar!