Intergenerational Justice
Summary
The distribution of scarce resources between the young and the old will continue to attract widespread attention in scholarly and public-policy discussions. Different philosophical approaches to justice yield very different answers to the question of how these concerns should be settled. The philosophical assumptions inherent in proposals for rationing based on age, for example, derive little support from libertarian schools of thought, yet fit well within the framework of utilitarian and contractarian viewpoints. Gaining clarity about the problem of intergenerational justice in health care and other areas will require paying closer attention to the philosophical and ethical assumptions that underlie different policy proposals.
NANCY JECKER
See also GENERATIONAL EQUITY; POPULATION AGING.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CALLAHAN, D. Setting Limits: Medical Goals in an Aging Society. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987.
DANIELS, N. Am I My Parents' Keeper?: An Essay on Justice Between the Young and the Old. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
GAUTHIER, D. Morals by Agreement. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
JECKER, N. S. "Aging and the Aged: Societal Aging." In Encyclopedia of Bioethics, vol. 1. Edited by W. T. Reich. New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1995. Pages 91–94.
RAWLS, J. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1971.
INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONS
See PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP
Additional topics
Medicine EncyclopediaAging Healthy - Part 2Intergenerational Justice - Historical Background, Philosophical And Ethical Background, Contractarian Approaches To Intergenerational Justice, Utilitarian Approaches, Libertarian Approaches