The Principles of Intergenerational Neutrality

Current debates on health care reform and Social Security have highlighted the issue of intergenerational equity. Intergenerational, in the sociological and psychological context, is the concept or idea of fairness or justice in relationships between, children, youth, adults, and seniors, particularly in terms of treatment and interactions. The current Social Security system and problems illustrates the problems and liabilities when the benefits of one generation becomes the potential liabilities of another. In some respects, our current debate on health care reform is a debate over intergenerational equity.

Conversations and debates about intergenerational equity occur across several different fields. They include transition economics, social policy, government budget making - and from the context and interest of engineering we have environmental concerns, sustainable development, global warming, and climate change.

In his book Worst-Case Scenarios (2007), author Cass Sunstein, presents a case for what he has termed the Principle of Intergenerational Neutrality. The governing idea requires the citizens of every generation to be treated equally. Present generations are obligated to take the interests of their descendants as seriously as they take their own. Life-cycle analysis is a cornerstone of engineering economy and thought. Engineers understand that they are fundamentally the guardians of the future against the claims of the present. Short-change the present and the future picks up the bill. As Sunstein points out, however, ". . . the Principle of Intergenerational Neutrality does not mean that the present generation should refuse to discount the future, or should impose great sacrifices on itself for the sake of those who will come later. If human history is any guide, the future will be much richer that the present; and it makes no sense to say that the relatively impoverished present should transfer its resources to the far wealthier future. And if the present generation sacrifices itself by forgoing economic growth, it is likely to hurt the future too, because long-term economic growth is likely to produce citizens who live healthier, longer, and better lives."

The questions surrounding future engineering problems and issues, such as climate change and sustainable development, will require engineers to focus on many issues. One important one is that members of any particular generation should not be favored over the members of any others. Engineering will be increasingly concerned with the distribution of costs and benefits between present and future generations. The distribution "of what" and the magnitude will primarily be focused on capacities, opportunities, and well-being. "We want our kids to have it better that we did" faces a future of generational debates over a wide range of topics - climate change, sustainability, energy dependency, environmental concern, health care reforms, and Social Security are just a small sample. Engineering and cost-benefit analysis focuses on discounting - money that will come in the future must be discounted. Engineering will be faced with new questions. Should we discount future lives as well? Is a life twenty years hence worth a fraction of a life today? The Principle of Intergenerational Neutrality hardly answers every question, but it provides the right foundation for that analysis.