Abstract
The starting points for this paper are Carroll Estes’ observation in The Ageing Enterprise that a largely classless view of old age dominates public policy, and her subsequent direction of the nascent political economy perspective towards variations in the conditions of older people and their relationship with societal forces. First of all it argues that the idea of social justice must be central to the political economy of ageing and supports this case with reference to the idea of ‘unjust ageing’. This analysis fuses critical social policy and critical gerontology perspectives which, among other things, reject the idea that inequalities in life chances and conditions are inevitable. Secondly, the paper outlines the causes of unjust ageing from a life course perspective, including the life long influence of birth status and mid-life factors such as employment, gender, race and ethnicity. Thirdly, the paper looks at the sorts of measures required to promote a socially just later life, including preventative health, education, healthy working conditions and decent pensions. It also establishes some key principles to guide a strategy for social justice in life, including later life.