Developing Intergenerational Cooperation Based on Public Reciprocity: Intergenerational Cooperation Through the Kantian Categorical Imperative

This chapter points out that intergenerational cooperationKantian categorical imperative is possible, but not always sufficient, under public reciprocityPublic reciprocity. The focus of interest in this chapter and the Chap. 4 is to find methodologies to encourage further cooperation. The methodologies discussed in this chapter are fund establishment (constitutionalization), the Kantian categorical imperativeKantian categorical imperative, and intergenerational negotiationIntergenerational negotiation (discussed in Appendix 3.1). An experiment shows that the preceding generation morally inspires subsequent generations through its behavior (endogenization of preferences of subsequent generations). When there is moral inspirationMoral inspiration, if the preceding generation wishes the cooperation of the subsequent generations, it will in fact cooperate itself. This logic is interpreted by the Kantian categorical imperativeKantian categorical imperative. Although the Kantian categorical imperativeKantian categorical imperative has excellent properties, its drawback is that it fixes cooperation in a low state throughout the generation when the preceding generation has only a low interest in cooperation.