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31/03/2010

Michael Buerk chairs a live debate in which Claire Fox, Michael Portillo, Clifford Longley and Kenan Malik cross-examine expert witnesses on the moral issues behind the week's news.

Are the Baby Boomers the most selfish generation history has ever known? The 11 million children of the post-war baby boom are marching towards retirement. There are more over 60s than under 16s and their numbers and the demands they make on our society and how we're going to pay for them are questions we're only just starting to confront. They've grown up with all the benefits of the welfare state and NHS, made a profit on their homes and have good company pensions. Should they have used their demographic good fortune to build for the future, rather than leaving the next generation to pick up the tab? There used to be a contract between the generations - a moral duty, that we'd leave the world a better place for our children, that they'll live better lives than us. Edmund Burke's described a nation is "a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born". But what's the baby boomers' legacy to the next generation? Climate meltdown, a wrecked economy and very large bill in the post. Do we have a moral obligation to the next generation and if so, what is it?

45 minutes

Last on

Sat 3 Apr 2010 22:15

Broadcasts

  • Wed 31 Mar 2010 20:00
  • Sat 3 Apr 2010 22:15

The Evidence Toolkit

The Evidence Toolkit

Check out the claims made in news stories with this interactive tool.

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