Introduction

This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part presents a series of “strategic questions” designed to prod us to a fusion of humanistic and service-oriented goals —not only for the elderly, but for people of every age. It shows that the Israeli kibbutz, perhaps inadvertently, provides an age-integrated setting that both protects and encourages its older members, using and respecting their skills while ensuring against loneliness. The part deals with visions, images of ideal conditions for the last stage of life: of community, of lifelong education, of humane health care. These are passionate arguments for a redirection of values, away from the privatized individualism of late capitalism, toward a more communal and egalitarian approach to intergenerational responsibilities.