This paper reconsiders the Strotz-Pollak problem of consistent planning and argues that a solution to this problem requires a refinement of subgame-perfectness. Such a refinement is offered through an analysis based on Greenberg's “theory of social situations”. The properties of this refinement are investigated and illustrated. A unifying framework is presented whereby consistent one-person planning as a problem of individual time-consistency and renegotiation-proofness as a problem of collective time-consistency are captured through the same general concept.

The Rawlsian maximin criterion is combined with nonpaternalistic altruistic preferences in a nonrenewable resource technology. The maximin program is shown to be time-inconsistent for a subset of initial conditions. A solution to this intergenerational conflict is found, under a given assumption, as a generically unique subgame-perfect equilibrium.