The War Against Humanity
A war has been raging for decades. It is a war affecting or involving nearly anyone. As such, it could very well be the first real βworldβ war, not in the least because this war also decides the future of this world and everything that lives on it. There are relatively few βsoldiersβ fighting this war, however, and certainly on our side. Almost all of the violence β and certainly all of the structural violence β is inflicted upon us by the enemy. That enemy is waging a war against humanity. The enemy goes by many different names: the βsuper-richβ,...
The Cluelessness of Longtermism
Longtermism is a variety of utilitarianism (itself a variety of consequentialism) that holds that far-future utility potentially far outweighs near-future utility, and therefore, that we should prioritize far-future consequences of our actions and policies. Utilitarianism is often summarized with the slogan βthe greatest happiness for the greatest number of peopleβ, but the term βutilityβ or βbenefitsβ tends to be preferred by some philosophers (especially those who are close to, or have a background in economics). An associated, even shorter characterization of utilitarianism is that it aims to maximize utility (or benefits). Longtermism, then, holds that we should aim to maximize...