Sustainability and Intergenerational Justice

Hans Bertram is professor emeritus of sociology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.

• 1 Generational justice, sustainability, and ethical values2 The forgotten children2.1 Demographic facts2.2 The forgotten children and the lack of investment2.3 Parents: competition, compensation, or partnership2.4 Social inequality and mathematical skills2.5 Economic deprivation – economic capital2.6 Social deprivation – social capital2.7 Cultural deprivation – cultural capital2.8 From school to youth welfare2.9 An integrative perspective3 Germany, nation of education in decline3.1 Policy or theoretical failure: the problems with compensation theory3.2 Intergenerational justice and sustainable education4 Poor children in a rich country4.1 Material poverty and the economic independence of mothers4.2 Work, poverty, social exclusion4.3 Child deprivation5 Overcoming poverty: dual-income families, inclusion through work, overcoming deprivation5.1 From universal poverty reduction to tackling specific causes5.2 Poverty, work, and social exclusion5.3 Poverty, work, and deprivation5.4 The triad of poverty reduction as intergenerational justice6 Healthy life: a country without confidence?6.1 Healthy life, life expectancy, working life, and life satisfaction6.2 The black sheep: the coronavirus pandemic, a brief digression on excess mortality and the effects of the pandemic on children6.3 Healthy living: sustainable lifestyles and reduction of life risks6.4 Sustainable health policy instead of ageism7 A peaceful, just, and inclusive society7.1 Respect at school and in the family: the heterogeneity of pupils7.2 Respect in school and family: The heterogeneity of families7.3 Subjective and actual safety7.4 Family, children, and the state7.5 Looking together7.6 Youth welfare and schools: on the way to a village8 Sustainability, gender equality, and the gender paradox8.1 Equality of results or equality of opportunity8.2 Equal opportunities: Privileging the privileged8.3 Equal opportunities: Homo economicus, preferences, and individuality costs9 Responsibility postponed: the burden of future generations9.1 Rational fools in climate policy: Why incentives alone are not enough9.2 Technology instead of sacrifice: a more realistic model for sustainability9.3 Climate policy and neocolonialism: Who bears the burden of climate change?9.4 Climate showdown: technology versus equality9.5 From a national to a systemic climate policy10 More appearance than substance? Paradoxical developments in education, poverty, health, security, equality, and climate10.1 A divided society or intergenerational justice10.1.1 Academics instead of workers: from the coal and steel industry to the service society10.1.2 Neoliberal poverty rate, forgotten deprivation, and participation10.2 Quality of life and security10.2.1 The years gained: gain or loss?10.2.2 Security: Lack of commitment in the welfare state10.3 Equality and structural disadvantage10.3.1 Three phases, many hurdles: the life course as a barrier to equality10.3.2 The strong get stronger, the weak fall behind: the equality paradox10.3.3 The three-part life course: the structural disadvantage of women10.4 Climate policy and sustainability10.4.1 From good intentions to good results: generational justice at the heart of honest climate policy10.4.2 Fluctuating electricity instead of base load: Merkel’s headless energy transition10.4.3 The natural gas trap: the example of Great Britain10.4.4 Ideology instead of efficiency? The blind spots of the net-zero strategy10.4.5 For a fair future: invest now – don’t wait until the price rises10.4.6 Alternative climate policy: efficiency, storage, global cooperation11 Intergenerational justice: ethics of conviction or open society11.1 The sustainability goal of education11.2 The sustainability goal of health11.3 The sustainability goal of combating poverty11.4 The sustainability goal of security for children and young people11.5 The sustainability goal of gender equality11.6 The sustainability goal of climate change: number one?12 Resources and the production of the book13 LiteratureIndex