What is long-termism?
It is an important component of “effective altruism”, a moral view most famously espoused by Sam Bankman-Fried
ON NOVEMBER 6TH Sam Bankman-Fried was king of crypto, worth $16bn. His fortune vanished a week later when FTX, the crypto exchange he headed, went bankrupt. FTX’s collapse has destabilised not just the crypto-sphere but also effective altruism (EA), the young and growing social movement to which Mr Bankman-Fried belongs. Effective altruists claim to use evidence and reason to maximise the good they do for others, no matter where the beneficiaries live or when they are born. Effective altruists give the bulk of their money to global health and development (think malaria nets), to animal welfare (many are vegans) and, more recently, to “long-termism”. What is it?
This article appeared in the The Economist explains section of the print edition under the headline “What is long-termism?”
From the November 26th 2022 edition
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