Social justice across the generations

In: Benefits: A Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Band 15, Heft 2, S. 163-169

Abstract

A neglected aspect of social justice is fairness between successive generations. This article argues that the large generation born immediately after World War Two (the 'baby boomers') have benefited from a favourable macro-economic environment throughout their lives, while the relatively small generation following them will bear the brunt of paying for the pensions and healthcare of their predecessors. Such extreme differences in the benefits and burdens of different generations over their life cycles may need to be ameliorated in order to avoid a breakdown in the informal intergenerational social contract, which has sustained support for the welfare state over several decades.