Generational Sovereignty

Gosseries, Axel [UCL]

(eng) This chapter aims at linking the seventeen proposals defended in the book with the notion of generational sovereignty. Can they be considered to promote or to jeopardize generational sovereignty? We begin with a definition of three notions of generational sovereignty. We then explore whether generational sovereignty, understood in any of these three senses, can actually be restricted. Following that, we put forward and defend a twofold claim: most—if not all—proposals included in this book are likely to contribute to a fairer distribution of effective (political) generational sovereignty while only restricting to a limited extent the jurisdictional sovereignty of current and coming generations. Finally, we explore whether restrictions to generational sovereignty could be justified, how sovereignty issues connect with distributive justice and solidarity concerns, as well as how they connect with issues of short-termism.