It’s impossible to consider intergenerational fairness without interrogating the design and purpose of our economic system. Our economic system must be transformed into one that is designed to deliver wellbeing for people and planet, now and in the future.
Today’s economic paradigm drives short-termism by telling us that short-term measures of GDP and growth of material wealth are what an economy is for. Centring wellbeing in economic design and decision-making means taking a truly long term and preventative approach. Intergenerational Fairness would ensure that the opportunities and resources available for future generations are not harmed or constrained by current economic decisions
The establishment of an EU Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness has been an important step in this direction, but more work is needed to explicitly connect the agenda with the need for economic systems change. Inspiration can be drawn from the Welsh Well-being of Future Generations Act which has put 7 overarching wellbeing goals at the heart of its policy decision-making and has defined five ways of working to achieve these goals, which the Future Generations Commissioner helps keep government agencies accountable to.
It is not just the “what” of policy making that must be transformed but also the “how”, through meaningful public participation at all stages in the policy process. The Wellbeing Economy Policy Design Guide speaks to this in detail, based on the principles in this image: