Rawls's original position elegantly models fairness among contemporaries, but its contractual logic strains when extended to future generations, who cannot participate in the agreement that is meant to bind them.
Because the parties behind the veil choose principles together, reciprocity is doing quiet but essential work. Intergenerational justice removes that reciprocity: the unborn make no concessions and accept no risks.
"The just savings principle is less a derivation from the original position than a patch applied from outside it." (§4)
This essay argues the patch reveals the deeper limit, rather than resolving it.