βThis book will change your sense of how grand the sweep of human history could be, where you fit into it, and how much you could do to change it for the better. Itβs as simple, and as ambitious, as that.β βEzra Klein
An Oxford philosopher makes the case for βlongtermismβ β that positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority of our time.
The fate of the world is in our hands. Humanityβs written history spans only five thousand years. Our yet-unwritten future could last for millions more β or it could end tomorrow. Astonishing numbers of people
could lead lives of great happiness or unimaginable suffering, or never live at all, depending on what we choose to do today.
In What We Owe The Future, philosopher William MacAskill argues for longtermism, that idea that positively influencing the distant future is a key moral priority of our time. From this perspective, itβs not enough to reverse climate change or avert the next pandemic. We must ensure that civilization would rebound if it collapsed; counter the end of moral progress; and prepare for a planet where the smartest beings are digital, not human.
If we make wise choices today, our grandchildrenβs grandchildren will thrive, knowing we did everything we could to give them a world full of justice, hope and beauty.
