Why Posterity Matters: Environmental Policies and Future GenerationsWhy Posterity Matters is the first comprehensive philosophical examination of our duties to future generations. It appears at a time when it is becoming increasingly obvious that we can no longer exploit the environment without causing risks for posterity. Dr de-Shalit argues that our obligations towards new generations are a matter of justice, not of charity or supererogation. It becomes our duty to consider them when we distribute access to natural resources, decide on environmental policies and plan budgets. This raises problems for conventional theories of justice. Why Posterity Matters puts forward a new communitarian theory of intergenerational justice, which can serve as the moral basis for environmental policy. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 1 |
1 THE TRANSGENERATIONAL COMMUNITY | 13 |
2 APPLICATIONS OF THE THEORY | 51 |
3 THE UTILITARIAN THEORY AND THE NOTYETBORN | 65 |
4 CONTRACTARIAN THEORIES OF INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE | 87 |
5 RIGHTS OF FUTURE PEOPLE | 113 |
6 SUMMARY AND OPEN QUESTIONS | 125 |
NOTES | 141 |
| 149 | |
| 163 | |
Other editions - View all
Why Posterity Matters: Environmental Policies and Future Generations Avner De-Shalit Limited preview - 2005 |
Why Posterity Matters: Environmental Policies and Future Generations Avner De-Shalit No preview available - 1995 |
Why Posterity Matters: Environmental Policies and Future Generations Avner De-Shalit No preview available - 1995 |
Common terms and phrases
affect agreement answer argue argument assumption average happiness average utilitarianism Barry believe biocentric claim co-operation communitarian theory conceive concept conservation consider constitutive community contract contractarian theorists cultural interaction debate decide depletion derive difficulty discuss distributive justice economic environment environmental ethics environmental policies example exist fact future persons Gauthier human rights ideas identity implies instance interests intergenerational context intergenerational justice intergenerational relations Israeli issue Jonathon Porritt least advantaged live maximize Michael Walzer moral similarity Moreover Narveson natural resources norms objective obligations to contemporaries obligations to future obligations to remote one’s original position Parfit people’s political pollution population policies preferences present problem question of intergenerational radioactive waste rational Rawls Rawls’s reason reciprocity reflect regard remote future rights of future sense social society tastes theory of intergenerational theory of justice total utilitarian transgenerational community utility values veil of ignorance Walzer welfare of contemporaries welfare rights