Rationality and politics in long-term decisions

A central question in the conservation and exploitation of nature is the time perspective used in decisions. According to the standard economic theory, decision makers tend to favour immediate benefits at the expense of more distant ones. In this essay, different economic and philosophical arguments for and against this practice are discussed. The conclusion is that although long-term decisions are qualitatively different from normal decisions, the difference cannot be represented in terms of a uniform discount rate. The latter part of the essay discusses the question of how societies can be made less myopic. As we need constitutional restrictions to protect minorities, we may also need similar restrictions to protect the interests of future generations.