Some Thoughts on Shortsightedness and Intergenerational Equity

Abstract

This essay was written for Loyola University Chicago Law Faculty Issue on Justice, published in the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal. The essay discusses the concept of intergenerational equity. It addresses society's relationship to past and future generations and how this relationship ought to influence our decision making in the present. It opens with a scene from South Park, a television show on Comedy Central, and ends with a discussion of President Lincoln's Lyceum Address.

Keywords: Intergenerational, shortsighted, justice, Lyceum

JEL Classification: D9, H00