By longtermism I mean “Longtermism =df the view that the most important determinant of the value of our actions today is how those actions affect the very long-run future.”
I want to clarify my thoughts around longtermism as an idea - and to understand better why some aspects of how it is used within EA make me uncomfortable despite my general support of the idea.
I'm doing a literature search but because this is primarily an EA concept that I'm familiar with from within EA I'm mostly familiar with work (e.g Nick Beadstead etc) advocates of this position. I'd like to understand what the leading challenges and critiques to this position are (if any) as well. I know of some within the EA community (Kaufmann) but not of what the position is in academic work or outside of the EA Community.
Thanks!
I also like the arguments in The Precipice. But per my above comment, I'm not sure if they are arguments for longtermism, strictly speaking. As far as I recall, The Precipice argues for something like "preventing existential risk is among our most important moral concerns". This is consistent with, but neither implied nor required by longtermism: if you e.g. thought that there are 10 other moral concerns of similar weight, and you choose to mostly focus on those, I don't think your view is 'longtermist' even in the weak sense. This is similar to how someone who thinks that protecting the environment is somewhat important but doesn't focus on this concern would not be called an environmentalist.