Preparing for the Future: An Essay on the Rights of Future Generations

by John Ahrens

Overview

Does the present generation have a moral obligation to conserve resources for future generations? Must we accept drastic reductions in our standard of living, and give up the ideals of individual liberty and technological progress in order to preserve the environment? PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE offers an unfashionably optimistic answer to these questions: that future generations cannot have a right to a share of existing resources, because only living persons can have rights. Rejecting the sacrifices that most traditional ethical principles would require of us, it advocates, instead, that members of the present generation may legitmately use all of the resources at their disposal to realize their own values.All that a genuine concern for the fate of future generations requires is a continuing commitment to the ideals of freedom and progress. If we reject these ideals now, we may be able to conserve a meager supply of resources for the future. However, the price will be fearsomely high, for we will have seriously hampered any" attempt to improve the lot of future generations or to bequeath to posterity the best world that the present generation can create.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138530669
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/18/2020
Series:	Studies in Social Philosophy & Policy , #2
Pages:	50
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

John Ahrens is currently an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he teaches courses on political theory, applied ethics, and philosophical themes in literature and film. He was formerly on the faculty of Bowling Green State University, where he helped to establish the Social Philosophy and Policy Center. Professor Ahrens’ research ranges from political theory and the ethical dimensions of public policy to popular culture; his previous publications include articles on corporate responsibility, limited government, and the aesthetics of science fiction film. He also writes for the popular press on issues of current political significance.

Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION: CARING FOR POSTERITY, II. THE ENVIRONMENT: CRISIS OR OPPORTUNITY, III. THE FOUNDATION AND SCOPE OF RIGHTS, IV. THE RIGHTS OF FUTURE GENERATIONS, V. CONCLUSION: PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE