An Analysis of the Principle of Just Savings and Economic (De)Growth: A Sustainable Median Between Accumulation Stage and Steady State Stage in Relation to Climate Change

In this thesis I argue that climate change challenges John Rawls's justice as fairness framework by creating a tension between economic growth in the accumulation stage and the Principle of Just Savings, which mandates resource preservation for future generations. Fossil fuel-driven growth exacerbates environmental degradation, perpetuating an unsustainable accumulation stage that undermines intergenerational justice. I propose a hybrid model that integrates the Degrowth Model's focus on reduced consumption with the Green Transition Model's emphasis on renewable energy to reconcile domestic and intergenerational justice. By addressing critiques from Hyunseop Kim, Susan Moller Okin, and Martha Nussbaum, the hybrid model extends Rawls's theory to non-ideal, global contexts, offering a sustainable framework for climate justice that balances economic development with ecological and ethical imperatives in international relations.