Obligations to Future Generations: A Philosophical Note
Author(s)
Pasek, Joanna
Abstract
The standard treatment in economics of the optimal allocation of resources over time usually pays little attention to various underlying value judgments concerning our obligations to future generations. Now that there appears to be a threat to the global environment this issue has been given more attention in philosophy. Some contemporary philosophers have considered how far existing theories of justice provide guidance on intergenerational justice, how far the latter raises special problems, and how to think about them. Although the discussion so far does not, of course, provide any simple answers it has clarified some of the moral dilemmas posed by considerations of intergenerational justice and suggested ways in which our moral intuitions can justify concern for the interests of future generations.
