Lukas Bärfuss: Rights of the Descendants

The first guest for 2021 was the Swiss author Lukas Bärfuss. He gave a lecture on the topic "Rights of the Descendants" at the University of Zurich on 18 November 2021 (see flyer (PDF, 889 KB)).

In his talk, explicitly addressed to a young audience, Lukas Bärfuss commented on a central and rarely discussed concept in the political debate: legacy. For example, the legacy of the industrial age consists of a large amount of waste, such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Furthermore, several tens of thousands of generations will have to live with radioactive waste. Poison and valuables, assets and debts, immaterial as well as material goods – everything is fatefully transferred from the parents to the next generation, and one thing remains certain: the distribution of the inheritance among the children is flagrantly unjust.

In his talk, Lukas Bärfuss reflected on how a democratic society should relate to all this, and what wealth of experience literature has to offer in the search for solutions.

Lukas Bärfuss' talk was complemented and critically discussed by a panel discussion with members of the Faculty of Law.

Participating in the panel discussion were Dr. Elif Askin, URPP Equality of Opportunity UZH, Prof. Dr. Helen Keller UZH, and Jón Laxdal, student of law UZH. The panel discussion was led by Prof. Dr. Matthias Mahlmann.

The event was recorded and is available as a podcast.