The Politics of Non-Existence

Measures to protect future interests in policy-making often involve forms of epistocracy, i.e. enhancing of the role of independent experts on long-term consequences of policy choices. There are also proposals and actual practices involving specific institutional actors, i.e. proxy representatives, whose task is to 'give voice' to future generations by articulating their interests in policy-making. This paper explores the prospects of the representation of future peoples' interests in processes of democratic deliberation. It argues that institutional designs that enhance inclusive forms of citizen deliberation are likely facilitate representation and consideration of future interests compared to current institutions of representative democracy and their incentive structures. However, even inclusive deliberative forums may be insufficient when it comes to safeguarding future interests, and more emotional modes of communication may be needed in order to compensate for the lack of presence of future people. In conclusion, the paper suggests that measures that 'give voice' and appeals to empathy for future people function best when used in conjunction with inclusive deliberative processes, where the validity of the claims made on behalf of future people are assessed.