Intergenerational conflicts about social equity, expectations and obligations: lessons from the United States
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21504/sajg.v3i2.42Abstract
"Justice across generations" has become a policy issue throughout the Western-industrial world during the past decade. Debate about intergenerational equity involves the distribution of resources and obligations across age groups and generations. Our analysis suggests that debate centres around five specific issues: (1) Conceptual confusions between age groups and family generations; (2) disagreements over the meaning of "equity"; (3) arguments about whether supporting the old is an unbearable public cost; (4) differing opinions about familial expectations, obligations and burdens; and (5) discrepancies between media coverage and empirical evidence on intergenerational relations. While these issues first surfaced in the United States, it can be expected that such disputes will arise in many other nations with similar economic environments, demographic profiles, and public sentiment regarding welfare and entitlement spending. We conclude by examining the potential for increased intergenerational solidarity as an outcome of discussions about equity.References
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Millman, M. 1991. They do come home again ... for money. Lear's, November. pp. 94-97, 138.
Møller, V. 1994. Intergenerational relations in a society in transition: a South African case study. Ageing and Society, 14: 155-89.
Murray, C. 1984. Losing ground. New York: Basic Books.
Myles, J. & Quadagno, J. (Eds) 1992. States, labor markets, and the future of old age policy. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Pear, R. 1991. Medicare prognosis: unwieldy growth fueled by more fees and beneficiaries. New York Times, March 10, p. 4E.
Pinkerton. J.P. 1994. Economy bites the edge off generation X. Los Angeles Times, February 24, p. 87.
Preston, S.H. 1984. Children and the elderly in the US. Scientific American, 251(6): 44-49.
Quadagno, J. 1992. Interest-group politics and the future of US social security. In: Myles, J. & Quadagno, J. (Eds) States, labor markets, and the future of old-age policy. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, pp. 36-58.
Quinn, J.F., Burkhauser, R.V. & Myers. D.A. 1990. Passing the torch: the influence of economic incentives on work and retirement. Kalamazoo. MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
Rosenblatt, R.A. 1992. Footing the bill for our future. Los Angeles Times. October 28. pp. A1. 8-9.
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Stoesz, D. & Karger, H.J. 1992. Reconstructing the American welfare state. Lanham. MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Thomson, D.W. 1993. A lifetime of privilege? Aging and generations at century's end. In: Bengtson, V .L. & Achenbaum, W.A. (Eds) The changing contract across generations. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, pp. 215-27.
Tynes, S.R. 1994. Book review. Contemporary Sociology. 23(1): 107-108.
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Weisberg, J. 1992. Are your parents robbing you blind? The coming war between the old and the young. Worth. June/July. pp. 68-75.
Aaron, H.J., Bosworth, B.P. & Burtless, G. 1989. Can America afford to grow old? Paying for social security. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.
Aaron, H.J., Mann, T.E. & Taylor, T. (Eds) 1994. Values and public policy. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.
Bengtson, V.L. 1975. Generation and family effects in value socialization. American Sociological Review. 40: 358-71.
Bengtson, V.L. & Achenbaum, W.A. (Eds) 1993. The changing contract across generations. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Bengtson, V.L., Cutler, N.E., Mangen, D.J. & Marshall, V.W. 1985. Generations. cohorts and relations between age groups. In: Binstock, R. & Shanas, E. (Eds) Handbook of Aging and the social sciences. Second edition. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, pp. 304-38.
Bengtson, V.L. & Harootyan. R. (Eds) 1994. Intergenerational linkages: hidden connections in American society. New York: Springer.
Bengtson, V.L. & Murray, T.M. 1993. "Justice" across generations (and cohorts): sociological perspectives on the life course and reciprocities over time. In: Cohen, L. (Ed.) Justice across generations: what does it mean? Washington, DC: American Association of Retired Persons, pp. 111-38.
Bengtson, V .L. & Roberts, R.E.L. 1991. Intergenerational solidarity in aging families: an example of formal theory construction. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 53: 856-70.
Bengtson, V.L., Rosenthal, C. & Burton, L. 1990. Families and aging: diversity and heterogeneity. In: Binstock, R. & George, L.K. (Eds) Handbook of aging and the social sciences. Third edition. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, pp. 263-87.
Binstock, R.H. 1983. The aged as scapegoat. The Gerontologist, 23: 136-43.
Binstock. R.H. 1993. Transcending intergenerational equity. In: Greene, V.L., Marmor, T.R. & Smeeding, T.M. (Eds) Economic security, intergenerational justice, and the North American elderly. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press, pp. 334-69.
Buchanan, J.M. 1983. Social security survival: a public choice perspective. The Cato Journal. 3(2): 339-54.
Bulcroft, K., van Leynseele, J. & Borgatta, E.F. 1989. Filial responsibility laws: issues and state statutes. Research on Aging. 11(3): 374-93.
Callahan, D. 1987. Setting limits: medical goals in an Aging society. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Cohen, L.M. (Ed.) 1993. Justice across generations: what does it mean? Washington. DC: American Association of Retired Persons.
Cook, F. Lomax & Barrett, E.J. 1992. Support for the American welfare state: the views of congress and the public. New York: Columbia University Press.
D'Antonio. M. 1993. The new generation gap: golden oldies. Los Angeles Times Magazine. March 14. pp. 16-20, 46-49.
Day, C.L. 1990. What older Americans think: interest groups and aging policy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Dowd, J.J. 1975. Aging as exchange: a preface to theory. Journal of Gerontology. 30: 584-94.
Easterlin, R. A. 1987. Birth and fortune: the impact of numbers on personal welfare. Second edition. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Edelman, M. 1988. Constructing the political spectacle. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Eggebeen, D.J. & Hogan, D.P. 1990. Giving between generations in American families. Human Nature. 1: 211-32.
Ferreira, M., Møller, V., Prinsloo, F.R. & Gillis, L.S. 1992. Multidimensional survey of elderly South Africans. 1990-91: key findings. Cape Town: HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology.
Galloway, P. 1992. Financial tug of war. Chicago Tribune, August 10, pp. I, 4.
Goldscheider, F.K., Biddlecom, A.E. & McNally, J.W. 1994. Dependency, privacy, and power, in intergenerational households: changes in the living arrangements of the elderly in the United States. 1940-90. Paper presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association, Los Angeles. California. August 8.
Gouldner, A.W. 1960. The norm of reciprocity. American Sociological Review. 25: 161-78.
Kingson, E.R. & Williamson, J.B. 1993. The generational equity debate: a progressive framing of a conservative issue. Journal of Aging and Social Policy. 5(3): 31-53.
Kotlikoff, L.J. 1992. Generational accounting: knowing who pays, and when, for what we spend. New York: The Free Press.
Kronebusch, K. & Schlesinger, M. 1994. Intergenerational transfers. In: Bengtson, V.L. & Harootyan, R. (Eds) Intergenerational linkages: hidden connections in American society. New York: Springer, pp. 112-51.
Lamm, R.D. 1985. Mega-traumas, America at the year 2000. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Laslett, P. 1992. Justice between age groups and generations. In: Laslett, P. & Fishkin. J.S. (Eds) Justice between age groups and generations. New Haven. CT: Yale University Press, pp. 24-47.
Laslett, P. & Fishkin, J.S. (Eds) 1992. Justice between age groups and generations. New Haven. CT: Yale University Press.
Lawton, L., Silverstein, M. & Bengtson, V.L. 1994. Solidarity between generations in families. In: Bengtson, V.L. & Harootyan, R. (Eds) lntergenerational linkages: hidden connections in American society. New York: Springer, pp. 19-42.
Longman, P. 1987. Born to pay: the new politics of aging in America. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Makin, J.H. 1988. Social security: nothing but a Ponzi scheme. New York Times, October 8, p. 27.
Mangen, D.J., Bengtson, V.L. & Landry, P.H. 1988. Measurement of intergenerational relations. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Marmor, T.R., Mashaw, J.L. & Harvey, P.L. 1990. America's misunderstood welfare state: persistent myths, enduring realities. New York: Basic Books.
Marshall, V.W., Cook, F. Lomax & Marshall, J. G. 1993. Conflict over intergenerational equity: rhetoric and reality in a comparative context. In: Bengtson, V.L. & Achenbaum. W.A. (Eds) The changing contract across generations. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, pp. 119-40.
Millman, M. 1991. They do come home again ... for money. Lear's, November. pp. 94-97, 138.
Møller, V. 1994. Intergenerational relations in a society in transition: a South African case study. Ageing and Society, 14: 155-89.
Murray, C. 1984. Losing ground. New York: Basic Books.
Myles, J. & Quadagno, J. (Eds) 1992. States, labor markets, and the future of old age policy. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Pear, R. 1991. Medicare prognosis: unwieldy growth fueled by more fees and beneficiaries. New York Times, March 10, p. 4E.
Pinkerton. J.P. 1994. Economy bites the edge off generation X. Los Angeles Times, February 24, p. 87.
Preston, S.H. 1984. Children and the elderly in the US. Scientific American, 251(6): 44-49.
Quadagno, J. 1992. Interest-group politics and the future of US social security. In: Myles, J. & Quadagno, J. (Eds) States, labor markets, and the future of old-age policy. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, pp. 36-58.
Quinn, J.F., Burkhauser, R.V. & Myers. D.A. 1990. Passing the torch: the influence of economic incentives on work and retirement. Kalamazoo. MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
Rosenblatt, R.A. 1992. Footing the bill for our future. Los Angeles Times. October 28. pp. A1. 8-9.
Russell, L.B. 1982. The baby boom generation and the economy. Washington. DC: The Brookings Institution.
Samuelson, R.J. 1994. Generational economics: the gap is real. The Washington Post National Weekly Edition, April 18-24. p. 28.
Smeeding, T.M., Battin, M.P., Francis, L.P. & Landesman, B.M. (Eds) 1987. Should medical care he rationed by age? Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Littlefield.
Stoesz, D. & Karger, H.J. 1992. Reconstructing the American welfare state. Lanham. MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Thomson, D.W. 1993. A lifetime of privilege? Aging and generations at century's end. In: Bengtson, V .L. & Achenbaum, W.A. (Eds) The changing contract across generations. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, pp. 215-27.
Tynes, S.R. 1994. Book review. Contemporary Sociology. 23(1): 107-108.
Walker, A. 1993. Intergenerational relations and welfare restructuring: the social construction of an intergenerational problem. In: Bengtson, V .L. & Achenbaum, W.A. (Eds) The changing contract across generations. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. pp. 141-65.
Weisberg, J. 1992. Are your parents robbing you blind? The coming war between the old and the young. Worth. June/July. pp. 68-75.
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1994-10-01
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