TIRESIAS, KASSANDRA EN DE KOMENDE VERGRIJZING. (German)

This paper discusses three key issues of ageing: 1) the question of intergenerational solidarity 2) the way people arrange the 'third phase of life' (between 60 and 75 years of age) and 3) the problem of care for the elderly. Concerning intergenerational solidarity, two approaches seem to dominate the debate. The first is a 'Tiresias approach' which argues that funding of ageing by the various generations need not to be a problem, on the condition that a series of requirements are fulfilled, which each seem to be a precondition for the others to be realized. The 'Cassandra approach on the other hand, sketches a doom scenario of fundamental generational cleavages in society. However, it is argued that the societal costs of ageing cannot be accounted to any generation in particular. Therefore, all generations are equally responsible for the solution of this long-term collective problem. Long-term policy arrangements are required such as the rise of the labor participation (particularly by people of 55 to 65 years of age), a rise and/or flexibility with regard to the age of retirement. Crucial is whether people will spend their third phase of life productively or not (e.g. by participating on the labor market, or by providing care). The value of sociological knowledge in this and other societal debates, is to point out how the plurality of meanings and visions are linked to conflicting interests of groups and generations, and to provide clarity by showing the similarities and differences between these conflicting interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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