ABSTRACT
The extent to which economic efficiency can meaningfully be pursued while neglecting other social goals seems particularly limited in the case of the enhanced Greenhouse Effect. Population growth has often been regarded as a primary concern when debating long-term futures. A final qualification concerns the actual existence of future generations and their exact demographic constitution. The elitist rule requires that the welfare of the best-off be improved: actions that decrease elitist welfare are wrong. The egalitarian rule is the exact opposite, requiring the welfare of the worst-off be increased or maximising the minimum welfare, often termed the max–min principle. The Paretian rule reallocates resources until no generation can be made better-off without making another worse-off. The neo-classical utilitarian rule reallocates resources in order to maximise total utility across all generations. The neo-classical utilitarian rule reallocates resources in order to maximise total utility across all generations.
