An Introduction to Longtermism
longtermism.com
Saved by Juan Orbea
An Introduction to Longtermism
This book is about longtermism: the idea that positively influencing the longterm future is a key moral priority of our time.11 Longtermism is about taking seriously just how big the future could be and how high the stakes are in shaping it.
William MacAskill • What We Owe the Future
The point is that longtermism might be one of the most influential ideologies that few people outside of elite universities and Silicon Valley have ever heard about. I believe this needs to change because, as a former longtermist who published an entire book four years ago in defence of the general idea, I have come to see this worldview as quite p... See more
Aeon • Against longtermism
Tony Lashley added
First, we can affect humanity’s duration: ensuring that we survive the next few centuries affects how many future generations there are. That is, we can help ensure civilisation’s survival.
William MacAskill • What We Owe the Future
Tony Lashley and added
But the nascency of longtermism suggests that developing and spreading ideas around it should be a core part of the movement’s portfolio.
William MacAskill • What We Owe the Future
abandoning the tyranny of the present over the future, we can act as trustees—helping to create a flourishing world for generations to come. This is of the utmost importance. Let me explain why.
William MacAskill • What We Owe the Future
The longer view is coming into human consciousness in part because of the radical danger of the immediate moment – which is that humanity might create a mass extinction event and wreck Earth’s biosphere for all the generations of humans to come, plus of course the many species that would be driven to extinction.
Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies • Interview: Kim Stanley Robinson - Farsight
Sarah Owen added
What we do now will affect untold numbers of future people. We need to act wisely.