On one account, sustainability "concerns the specification of a set of actions to be taken by present persons that will not diminish the prospects of future persons to enjoy levels of consumption, wealth, utility, or welfare comparable to those enjoyed by present persons".
In contrast, the main aim of job creation schemes is to improve the labour market prospects of unemployed persons who cannot be re-integrated into the regular labour market immediately (even with the help of a hiring subsidy).
It is objectionable because it expresses ill-will or indifference, and it is unjust because it treats an individual in a morally arbitrary manner and, under current conditions, reinforces social patterns of disadvantage that seriously diminish the life prospects of many persons.
"There's always a degree of maneuvering over who may or may not be promoted to Standing Committee positions, but I can't recall a time when we've been so focused on the prospects of one person," said Joseph Fewsmith, an expert on Chinese politics at Boston University.
In today's fast-paced life we want to know right away about the long-term prospects of this person in front of us.
The following "as told to" profile was shared with the author on conditions of anonymity so as to protect future job prospects of the person whose story appears below.
The prospect of nonhuman persons – a category that may include primates, cetaceans, elephants, and even parrots – further blurs the issue.
The death penalty has become an issue in national politics again with GOP candidate Rick Perry's position on its use, and in recent news with the Troy Davis case in Georgia where there is reasonable doubt of the accused and as such, the increasingly likely prospects of executing innocent persons.
In reply, Leftow argues that if we accept the coherence of time travel stories, we should not be bothered by the prospect of "one person at one point in his life begging the same person at another point" (Leftow 2012a, 321).
