Confucianism and Transgenerational Grounds for Justice.

This article examines Mencius's virtue-oriented ethics and its metaphysical foundation as a resource for transgenerational justice, focusing on obligations to future generations regarding moral, social, economic, cultural, and environmental conditions. Mencius’s four cardinal virtues—humaneness (benevolence), righteousness (justice), ritual propriety, and wisdom—are cultivated initially within the family and extended to broader communities, providing a moral framework that transcends direct interaction between generations. Unlike contemporary accounts that justify obligations to future generations based on their role in completing present social actions or on lifetime-transcending interests, Mencius grounds these obligations in a shared, inherently good human nature and the perfection of virtues, which apply universally regardless of differing moral views. His metaphysics also links human virtues to the cosmic order, suggesting that virtuous governance and behavior protect natural resources and support just policies on issues like climate change, even across diverse communities.