What we owe The Future

byWILLIAM MACASKILL
WILLIAM  MACASKILL

A guide for making the future go better. Humanity’s written history spans only five thousand years. Our yet-unwritten future could last for millions more – or it could end tomorrow. Staggering numbers of people will lead lives of flourishing or misery or never live at all, depending on what we do today.

A profoundly new perspective on human civilization and our place in it.

– Lydia Cacho

This book will change your sense of how grand the sweep of human history could be, where you fit into it, and how much you could do to change it for the better.

– Ezra Klein

An optimistic look at the future that moved me to tears.

– Joseph Gordon-Levitt

William MacAskill is an associate professor in philosophy at the University of Oxford. At the time of his appointment, he was the youngest associate professor of philosophy in the world. A Forbes 30 Under 30 social entrepreneur, he also cofounded the nonprofits Giving What We Can, the Centre for Effective Altruism, and Y Combinator–backed 80,000 Hours, which together have moved over $300 million to effective charities. He lives in Oxford, England.

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– William MacAskill