Get old or die trying

Longevity justice in social insurance

Bibliographic Data

ID6445493
AuthorsManuel Sá Valente (0000-0003-4091-1995, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume24
Issue2
Pages124-145
Publication date2024-06-11
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitics Philosophy & Economics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1470-594X • E-ISSN: 1741-3060
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1470594x241259184
OpenAlexW4399513793
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited52

Of all the risks we face in life, ranging from unemployment to old age, early death is among the most tragic and yet most neglected by modern states. Liberal egalitarians might find it easy to dismiss social insurance against early death, but I argue they should not. Early in this paper, I explain why social insurance should include the risk of premature death by replying to four common criticisms. What follows is a case for a novel form of insurance that is more liberal and egalitarian across ages than the status quo. More specifically, I show that granting storable pensions in all life stages – youth, middle, and old age – promotes liberty and reduces lifetime inequality. Writers on age group and longevity justice often overlook the extent to which liberal lifetime equality can supply insightful arguments against inequality across ages. These call for a policy that gives each age group the freedom to draw a storable pension. I call that policy freetirement

Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economic Justice · Economics · Face (sociological concept · Inequality · Law and economics · Longevity · Pension · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Status quo · Unemployment · Employment and Welfare Studies · Global Health Care Issues · Health disparities and outcomes · Law · Medicine · Gerontology

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