All Books
Self-Growth
Business & Career
Health & Wellness
Society & Culture
Money & Finance
Relationships
Science & Tech
Fiction
Topics
Blog
Download on the App Store

What We Owe The Future

13 minWilliam MacAskill

What's it about

What if the most important people you could help haven't been born yet? This summary explores "longtermism," the radical idea that positively influencing the far future is a key moral priority of our time. You'll discover how your actions today can impact billions of lives to come. Learn how to weigh your impact on future generations and identify the greatest risks to humanity's survival, from pandemics to rogue AI. MacAskill provides a practical framework for making better decisions, so you can contribute to a flourishing, long-lasting future for everyone.

Meet the author

William MacAskill is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Oxford and a cofounder of the effective altruism movement, which has directed billions toward the world’s most pressing problems. His academic work on how we can best help others led him to a profound realization about the immense impact our actions have on future generations. This perspective, combining rigorous philosophy with a practical drive to do good, provides the foundation for his groundbreaking work on longtermism.

What We Owe The Future book cover