Empowering Future People by Empowering the Young

A number of recent writers have argued that the obligations modern states to people who will exist in future may far outstrip their present citizens, given vast and whose livelihoods depend on our actions (Beckstead 2013, Greaves MacAskill 2019, John 2020, Tarsney 2019). And yet do precious little behalf generations, choosing allow incentivize destructive practices such as widespread burning fossil fuels, while failing take preventative measures could deter global pandemics other catastrophes. The state is plagued with problems political short-termism: excessive priority near-term benefits at cost ones (Gonzalez-Ricoy Gosseries 2016B). By accounts many scientists economists, leaders rarely look beyond next 2-5 years into decade. There are reasons for this, from time preference (Frederick et al 2002, Jacobs Matthews 2012) cognitive bias (Caney 2016, Johnson Levin 2009, Weber 2006) perverse re-election incentives (Arnold 1990, Binder 2006, Mayhew 1974, Tufte 1978), but all involve foregoing costly action short term (e.g. increasing taxes, cutting benefits, imposing regulatory burdens) would larger moderate- long-run benefits. Such behavior fails not only generations come, also large existing citizens still much lives left lead. One type mechanism ameliorating short-termism receives attention these days involves apportioning greater relative influence young. As story goes: younger generally additional life expectancy than older it therefore looks reasonable expect they preferences extended further future. If we apportion young, seems system a whole show concern future. In light this story, particular mechanisms been proposed including lowering voting age (Piper 2020), weighting votes inversely (MacAskill Parijs 1998), disenfranchising elderly (Parijs instituting youth quotas legislatures (Bidadanure MacKenzie 2016). In what follows, I argue merely power young unlikely make significantly less short-termist, underexplored age-based be more successful. In particular, might mitigate by employing surrogacy liability within deliberative body charged representing