Intergenerational justice asks what obligations the living have toward people who do not yet exist — people who will inherit the consequences of current decisions about climate, debt, resource depletion, and institutional design. They have no representation in current political processes, no voice in the negotiations that determine their fate, and no recourse if the agreements we make fail them. Most traditions that have grappled with this question converge on a version of stewardship: we hold what we have in trust, with obligations that extend beyond the current generation's preferences and lifetimes.
Juana