Longtermism, in a nutshell, is the belief that our biggest responsibility is to make sure humanity lives on to fulfill its full potential (whatever that might be billions of years in the future). I first encountered it in the book «The Precipice» by Toby Ord — which I recommend. Taking the long view, and thinking about how not to go extict as a species obviously sounds reasonable. However, in its purest form, longtermism has some rather sinister sides. This is a former proponent’s case against longtermism, which he calls «quite possibly the most dangerous secular belief system in the world today». That is, quite possibly, overblown. But his case is worth a read.

From Weekly Filet #367, in October 2021.