Justice Between the Young and the Old
Dennis McKerlie - Oxford University Press, 2012  
 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.
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. 
 





































