Intergenerational Justice and the Rawlsian Legacy

In this paper, the author looks at Rawls's legacy with regard to our understanding of issues of intergenerational justice. Three issues are addressed. First, what are the difficulties faced by Rawls in his attempts at defining an original position able to enlighten us on intergenerational matters? Second, how is Rawls's principle of just savings to be understoodA‚ and assessed? Here, various interpretations are confronted, including a maximin and a sufficientarian one. Third, does Rawls add anything significant to the philosophical assessment of the social discount rate? The author concludes by emphasizing both the significance and some key missing elements in Rawls's work on intergenerational justice.