Skip to content

The Fate of Future Generations in Europe

    On November 6, 2009 Laszlo Zsolnai presented the main findings of the Future Generations research project of the Business Ethics Center of Corvinus University of Budapest in a conference organized by the Ombudsman for Future Generations Office of the Hungarian Parlament. He demonstrated that every country in Europe presents some burden on future generations in one or more domains of ecological, financial, human and intellectual capitals. There are countries (e.g. Bulgaria, Hungary,Poland, Latvia) which present burdens on future generations in all these domains. There are countries (e. g. Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden) which present gifts for future generations in the financial or intellectual domain but at the same time present serious ecological and/or human burden on them.

    Zsolnai argued that caring for future generations is not an altruistic concern only. Improving the position of future generations enhances the future of present generations too.There is a future for Europe if and only if the prospects of future generations are improved throughout Europe.

    The Fate of Future Generations in Europe