Giving It Our All? Demandingness in the Pivotal Generation

Henry Shue makes a powerful case for the ‘active many’ within the current generation to act urgently and ‘robustly’ on climate change. This is because the climate burdens born by future generations – heavy enough in any case – will be heavier still if we don’t; the threats are potentially unlimited; and harms could escalate, creating a ‘Hothouse Earth’. He also argues that this generation is uniquely positioned in having the last chance to avoid disaster, and that this reinforces the moral demands on us. This paper contends that, rather than Shue’s ‘active many’ and ‘ruthless few’, current generations are composed of a ruthless few, an apathetic many, and an active few. His important book leaves unresolved how much can be expected of members of the third group, in the face of obstruction by the first and inaction by the second. Must they devote their entire lives to pursuing collective climate action, setting all else aside, because they are members of the last generation who can avoid catastrophe? Shue’s arguments, I suggest, imply a very demanding individual duty to promote collective action on climate change, but leave it open whether there is an extremely or super-extremely demanding one.