What longtermism is
The word longtermism is used in several ways. The author separates two things:
Two people can have the same longtermist goal and disagree about the focus:
- long-term focus: thinking mainly about the effects of our decisions in the distant future;
- short-term focus: thinking mainly about the effects now and in the near future, believing that's what helps most overall.
Someone with a short-termist goal, on the other hand, only wants the best impact now or in the near future.
Why adopt a longtermist goal?
The main reason is simple: if we care about all the beings we can affect, the question shouldn't be "how do we have the best impact today?" but "how do we have the best impact across all of history?"
How big the future is
The future could be incredibly long and contain vastly more beings than exist today. If our decisions can affect that future, even a small effect could reach an enormous number of beings.
In short
- Longtermism means wanting the best impact across all of history.
- You can have that goal with either a long-term or a short-term focus.
- The main reason is that all future beings matter too.