Overview

In a world of limited resources, competition between the young and old prompt difficult questions of justice. In countries with public pension and health care systems, or with aging populations, there is often a concern that members of different generations are not always treated fairly. Dennis McKerlie's monograph examines justice between age-groups with the ultimate goal of a new theory of justice that effectively grapples with those questions. In the realm of public policy and medical ethics this is an important and timely topic, but surprisingly one that has received relatively little attention from moral philosophers. McKerlie develops a comprehensive view of fairness between age groups that applies the egalitarian values of equality, or priority for the badly off, to temporal parts of lives -- not just to complete lives.

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9780199769131

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Reviews

McKerlie...has devoted a great deal of his career to thinking and writing about rationality and justice, and his efforts culminate in this latest volume in the 'Oxford Ethics Series.' McKerlie analyzes the main ethical views on the issue and offers a positive conception of justice, where the value of priority for the badly off (egalitarianism) is applied to people at particular times in their lives, and not just to their whole lives (although this may be relevant too, depending on the case under consideration). He also devotes a chapter to the moral claims of people with Alzheimers' disease and of those who are cognitively and emotionally disabled. The book is relevant in the fields of public policy and bioethicsELRecommended. M.M. Gillis, CHOICE At a time when demographic changes resulting from the remarkable increase in longevity in developed countries in recent years has focussed attention on the burden of ensuring that old people are able to enjoy a dignified poverty-free existence McKerlie's book is extremely timely and important. --Wilfred Beckerman, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

<br> McKerlie...has devoted a great deal of his career to thinking and writing about rationality and justice, and his efforts culminate in this latest volume in the 'Oxford Ethics Series.' McKerlie analyzes the main ethical views on the issue and offers a positive conception of justice, where the value of priority for the badly off (egalitarianism) is applied to people at particular times in their lives, and not just to their whole lives (although this may be relevant too, depending on the case under consideration). He also devotes a chapter to the moral claims of people with Alzheimers' disease and of those who are cognitively and emotionally disabled. The book is relevant in the fields of public policy and bioethicsELRecommended. M.M. Gillis, CHOICE<p><br>

<br> McKerlie...has devoted a great deal of his career to thinking and writing about rationality and justice, and his efforts culminate in this latest volume in the 'Oxford Ethics Series.' McKerlie analyzes the main ethical views on the issue and offers a positive conception of justice, where the value of priority for the badly off (egalitarianism) is applied to people at particular times in their lives, and not just to their whole lives (although this may be relevant too, depending on the case under consideration). He also devotes a chapter to the moral claims of people with Alzheimers' disease and of those who are cognitively and emotionally disabled. The book is relevant in the fields of public policy and bioethicsELRecommended. M.M. Gillis, CHOICE<p><br> At a time when demographic changes resulting from the remarkable increase in longevity in developed countries in recent years has focussed attention on the burden of ensuring that old people are able to enjoy a dignified poverty-free existence McKerlie's book is extremely timely and important. --Wilfred Beckerman, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews<p><br>

Author Information

Dennis McKerlie is Professor of Philosophy, at the University of Calgary

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