COVID-19 and Intergenerational Justice: The Case of Denmark
Abstract
We analyze Denmark’s COVID-19 containment policies. We argue that,
despite the precautionary principle being explicitly appealed to by decision-makers
at the highest political level, it is neither clear whether Danish COVID-19 policies
did in fact constitute a genuine application of the precautionary principle, nor
is it clear that the particular restrictions implemented ought indeed to count as
precautionary when seen from a perspective that transcends the short-term emergency.
Finally, we point at evidence suggesting that lock down policies had the
effect of saving the primarily older group of potential COVID-19 victims while
causing severe problems of loneliness, mental illness, loss of education and loss of
life opportunities for children and young people. This raises serious questions of
social and intergenerational injustice in relation to lock down policies