What is Intergenerational Justice?

This book explores the duties we owe to future generations,the unborn millions,and the concept of justice in an intergenerational context. It compares and analyzes various views about what we owe our successors, discusses links between justice and sustainability, and looks at the implications of our actions on their preferences and education. It also applies these theoretical considerations to real-life issues such as pension reform, Brexit, biodiversity, and the climate crisis. The book is a valuable guide for anyone grappling with these dilemmas.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 02 February 2023
Publisher: Polity Press

Can people alive now have duties to future generations, the unborn millions? If so, what do we owe them? What does "justice" mean in an intergenerational context, both between people who will coexist at some point and between generations that will never overlap?

In this book, Axel Gosseries provides a forensic examination of these issues, comparing and analyzing various views about what we owe our successors. He discusses the links between justice and sustainability, and looks at the implications of the fact that our successors' preferences are heavily influenced by what we will actually leave them and by the education they receive. He also points to how these theoretical considerations apply to real-life issues, ranging from pension reform and Brexit to biodiversity and the climate crisis. He ends by outlining how intergenerational considerations may translate into institutional design.

Anyone grappling with the dilemmas of our obligations to the future, from students and scholars to policy makers and active citizens, will find this an invaluable theoretical and practical guide to this moral and political minefield.

Weight: 286g
Dimension: 217 x 138 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781509525720