Modern societies today contend with new population dynamics that have never before existed in their demographic history. As the number of older people grows, these countries must determine how best to organize themselves to provide for the needs of this population, while at the same time fostering the sense of social contract for the society as a whole. The constraints are real: Fiscal and material resources are finite and must be shared in a way that is perceived to be just. In the face of these problems, societies confront the fundamental questions of who gets what, how, and why. To answer these questions, these societies ultimately must appraise the principles underlying the reasons why some people should deserve more help than others.

This study has systematically examined the Japanese and American answers to this fundamental question. It has explored the basic issues of vulnerability, dependency, security, protection, entitlement, and obligation that require direct attention if these societies are to meet the demands of different generations in the forthcoming decades. We have found that support is organized and perceived differently according to different cultural and social conditions; yet in both Japanese and American societies, the key to turning obligation into giving and charity into entitlement is the recognition that support between generations is a legitimate process of intrinsic value. Despite differences in both nations, the solution to the “problem” of old age in the final analysis is the gift of generations symbolized in a logic of fairness.