Towards a New Social Contract between Generations?

The economic polarisation of our societies today goes hand in hand with increasing poverty at the two extremes of the age pyramid. While life expectancy has never been so high and access to education so open, issues that may erode the confidence of young generations in the future are numerous: public debt, endemic youth unemployment, climate change, etc. At the same time, older generations are facing their own challenges: exclusion from the labour market, social isolation, decreased purchasing power, concerns about the financing of pensions, etc. What are the main causes of this double precariousness? Are they irremediable?

The weakening of the welfare state model and the demographic constraints on pay-as-you-go pension systems weaken institutional solidarity and make people fear the impossibility of a state response to this double challenge. Does this situation entail the return to family or community solidarity? Is the awakening of these solidarities necessary to recreate a social bond between generations? What place should intergenerational questions have in our societies?