The problem of intergenerational justice is among the most important issues in contemporary
politics. Yet contemporary philosophers and political theorists have had great difficulty
coming to grips with the nature and extent of our intergenerational obligations. This book
examines the historical roots of intergenerational justice and analyzes this concept
critically. Contemporary approaches are critiqued for their inability to address adequately
such essential intergenerational questions as whether and under what circumstances we have an
obligation to perpetuate the human species the moral implications of our power to affect the
identity of future persons and the nature of our obligations to the dead. The concluding
chapters propose a broader understanding of intergenerational justice and the moral necessity
of establishing a tradition of just intergenerational action as our legacy to posterity.
