Intergenerational Justice Theory

With the advent of the modern era, human civilization has achieved unprecedented development and progress. The appearance of modernity problems and the prevalence of human -centralism and consumerism have endangered the existence and development of our posterity. The purpose of human society is to realize, uphold and develop the welfare of all generations, and then to achieve a sustainable development at last. We, the present generations, have the duty to use and manage the resource and environment properly, making the future generations have at least the same chance to live and develop as we do today. If we want to achieve this goal, the questions we should answer are: What foundation or standard should we rely on? How can we make rules and regulations according to such foundation or standard? And what restriction does such criterion have on the present generations? And so on. To settle all these questions, we need to carry out a research——intergenerational justice.The general structure of this dissertation is as following. The introduction explains how we are confronted with the question of intergenerational justice. Then, at the beginning of the text the ideological source of intergenerational justice is discussed. Next, the concept, connotation and main problems of intergenerational justice are clarified. And then justice environment is discussed, which aims to explain how intergenerational justice can exist and why it belongs to a kind of justice of fairness. In order to realize intergenerational justice, we elaborate how to make rules and regulations in some fields such as politics, law and economy. At the end of this dissertation, the relationship between intergenerational justice and intra-generational justice is discussed, aiming to prove that the realization of the intergenerational justice, to a great extent, is based on the realization of intra-generational justice. This dissertation is consisted of the following six parts.Part one is the introduction. This part states that intergenerational justice is a phenomenon accompanying the modernizing process. The research of intergenerational justice mainly deals with the following questions: As the consumer and manager of the earth resource, we the present generations have the duty to use and manage the resource and environment properly, making the future generations have at least the same chance to live and develop as we do today. Only by doing so can we realize the sustainable development of human society. ChapterⅠ, the ideological sources of intergenerational justice and the analyse of present situation of intergenerational justice reseach. Although the prominence of intergenerational justice is a matter since the modern society, the origins of intergenerational justice can be traced back from the ancient Greece to the time of the founding fathers of the United States. Based on the need for such values as human preservation (security), freedom, equality, fairness, and so on, people of different historical periods expounded their ideas of intergenerational justice as to the different aspects of social systems, which constitutes the ideological origins of intergenerational justice.The analyse of present situation of intergenerational justice reseach can set up the foundation and show the direction for the research.ChapterⅡ, the conception and connotation of intergenerational justice. Based on an analysis of the conception of generation and intergenerational relationship, this chapter gives an definition of intergenerational justice as following: it refers to some special state and nature of social system, which chooses the temperance of present generations as its central value, a fair distribution of natural, environmental and social resources as its essential content, and a sustainable development of human society as its social objective.ChapterⅢ, intergenerational justice——a reflection of the two justice theories. Based on the analysis of Hume's and Rawls'theories on justice environment, the environment of inter-generational justice is discussed: an appropriate lack of resources, the fact that a rational pluralism, and a rational overlapping consensus. Then intergenerational justice is discussed as a justice of fairness. Chapter IV, the institutional protection of intergenerational justice. The main problem of intergenerational justice is the basic structure of society that is the social system. The specific status and nature of social system expresses the essence of intergenerational justice. This chapter discusses the constitutional, legal, economical, and consumptional systems of intergenerational justice.Chapter V, intergenerational justice and intra-generational justice. Intergenerational justice and intra-generational justice are the ideals of human's need for values; they are interrelated so as to become a dialectical unity. Only in the constraints of intergenerational justice system can we effectively resolve the questions of intra-generational justice. At the same time, intra-generational justice is the prerequisite and basis of intergenerational justice, which is about to promote the issue of intergenerational justice to be resolved. In brief, this thesis takes value as the tool of justice analysis, and discusses the concept and connotation of intergenerational justice. Intergenerational justice chooses the temperance of present generations as its central value, a fair distribution of natural, environmental and social resources as its essential content and a sustainable development of human society as its social objective. It includes intergenerational temperance, order, freedom, equality, security, efficiency and fairness as its value content and standard; it is the result of such values being converted into the social system. Intergenerational justice is the institutional constraints for intra-generational justice to be resolved effectively; intra-generational justice is the prerequisite and basis of intergenerational justice. Being a dialectical unification, intergenerational justice and intra-generational justice relate and restrict each other.