The earth will remain habitable for hundreds of millions of years. If we survive that long with the same population per century as now, there will be a million future people for every person alive today. We could spend 1% of world GDP and 1% of our political attention on issues that impact future generations.
If the human race lasts as long as a typical mammalian species and our population continues at its current size, then there are 80 trillion people yet to come. Oxford philosophy professor William MacAskill says it's up to us to protect them.
In his bold new book, "What We Owe the Future," MacAskill makes a case for longtermism. He believes that how long we survive as a species may depend on the actions we take now.
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