One of the strange things that happens when you start work on a novel is that you realise what’s been preoccupying you – sometimes without you knowing it. I was about a third of the way into my new novel, The Wall, when I discovered that I was completely obsessed by intergenerational inequality. In particular, by the question of intergenerational inequality linked to climate change. Who knew? Certainly not me.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with intergenerational inequality. At least, there’s nothing wrong with the version of it that existed in the developed world for much of the 20th century. That kind of inequality was based on the idea that life should be gradually better, from one generation to another – more secure, more prosperous, healthier, longer. That means that children got a better deal than their parents, but that was fine; indeed, in this version of the social contract, that was the whole point.
Continue reading...from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2TzIMKp
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