Long-term thinking; decision-making for future generations.
Short-term thinking is at the root of virtually every life-threatening problem we have to solve in the coming years, from climate change to the growing world population, according to Roman Krzarnic, philosopher and co-founder of the School of Life. He is the author of the book The Good Ancestor, in which he takes a critical look at the plague of our time: short-term thinking.
Voices of future generations are not incorporated in political decision making, while this generation will suffer most from mismanagement yet has nothing to say about it. Decisions taken now have major consequences for the people who have to live in that distant future. It is therefore no wonder that the call for more political influence from younger generations is becoming stronger.
A growing movement advocates for decision-making that takes the wellbeing and rights of future generations into account.
Future movement
An example is 'future design', a term coined by the Japanese economist Tatsuyoshi Saijo. People of future generations are not here today, to represent their own interests, so the idea is that the current generation takes on that role. Local residents participate in public meetings to discuss plans for the cities in which they live. First they discuss this from the perspective of the current resident, then they are instructed to imagine themselves as a resident from the year 2060. When someone 'plays' this role, his views and view of policy change significantly.
The success of future design led to its use in more and more cities in Japan and also in policy planning by the Japanese Ministry of Finance. The principle is inspired by the so-called “seven generations of decision-making” practiced in many traditional Native American communities. In this way, the generations that have not yet been born are taken into account.
In the United States, non-profit public interest law firm Our Children Tusts advocates on behalf of youth and future generations. Their actions saw 11 year old children suing the government for not taking enough action in the climate crises, arguing that they infringe on young people's right to a safe climate system.
Minister of the unborn
Luckily more and more governments recognize the need to take future generations into account. Wales has had a Future Generations Commissioner since 2016. Sophie Howes, whose mission is enshrined in the constitution, is now referred to as "world's first minister of the unborn". Finland has recently set up a parliamentary committee for the future, the purpose of which is to engage in dialogue with the government on major future problems. An advisory council, the World Future Council, has also been active in Germany for some time. It's not just advisory: in Wales, people from the age of 16 can vote for the first time this year.
Dutch bank ABN AMRO has recently founded a Future Generations Board. It says that ‘’with this board, ABN AMRO wants to give greater weight to the interests of future generations in decision-making. The board's first project is the development and implementation of a 'generation test'. This is an instrument to map out the impact of decisions on the living conditions of generations in the present and in the future.’’
