Essay on Justice Between the Young and the Old

1 total work

Am I My Parents' Keeper?

by Norman Daniels

Published 10 March 1988

There is a growing perception in the United States that the old and the young are locked in a fierce competition for a critical but scarce resource - public funds for human services. Many feel that the old now receive a disproportionate share of available funds, to the detriment of the very young and of the poor in general. The rapidly increasing numbers of old people make it imperative to face a 'new' question of justice: 'How should social resources be distributed among the different age groups competing for them?' This book attempts to formulate a principled answer, rooted in a theory of justice, to this pressing question. Rather than talk about competition between age groups, we must realize that as we age all of us pass through a variety of institutions which affect our well-being at each stage of life. The task thus becomes the prudent allocation of public resources among the stages of our lives. Although the book is primarily concerned with issues surrounding the design of social institutions, it book will also be of interest to individuals on the subject of the nature of their elderly parents and other relatives.
Readership: sociologists, policy-makers in social services; professionals and private individuals concerned with the care of the elderly.