A review by chrishudsonjr
What We Owe the Future by William MacAskill

challenging informative medium-paced

3.5

I came into this very sympathetic to longtermism and related views like EA and consequentialism. The book is good, but I was honestly expecting more. If you’re already convinced of about existential risks and that future people may matter, there isn’t much more substance. I think most people exposed to longtermism will be sympathetic to the weak version, but what’s contentious is how we weigh moral obligations to future people with other moral obligations. Again, the book is good and may be enjoyable to people new to these ideas, but I wish the entire book was as rich as the chapter on population ethics.