Longtermism is a philosophy that future lives matter and that we have a similar obligation to them as we do to lives around currently. William Macaskill states it in three clauses:
- Future people count
- There could be a lot of them
- We can make their lives better
[broad description of philosophy, something about WWOTF]
Criticisms and responses
- Longermism suffers from all the standard criticism of consequentialism
- Response: Longtermism doesn't require consequentialist assumptions. Many individuals and societies have felt an obligation towards their decendents
- Response: Many criticisms of consequentialism are baseless [[criticisms of consequentialism]]
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- Longtermism could be used to justify not caring about the world now
- Future lives don't exist, how could we care about them
- Something about Bostrom
- Something about ripples in a pond
- Something about Hanson
- Longtermism is unaccountable
- Lontermist thinkers have skeletons in their closets
- A future that doesn't deal with current suffering is not one some people want to live in
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