What We Owe the Future

What We Owe the Future presents a case for longtermism—the view that ensuring a good long-term future for humanity should be a central moral priority. MacAskill argues that the vast majority of people who will ever exist lie in the future, making our impact on their wellbeing potentially enormous. The book combines philosophical argument with practical analysis of existential risks, institutional change, and moral uncertainty.

MacAskill structures the work around three main questions: why the future matters morally, what threatens humanity's long-term prospects, and how individuals and institutions should act on longtermist principles. He addresses risks including artificial intelligence, biosecurity, and institutional decay, while also discussing how to maintain moral progress across generations.

Published in 2022, the book became influential in effective altruism circles and broader discussions of existential risk and intergenerational ethics. It synthesizes MacAskill's earlier work on effective altruism and introduces longtermism to a mainstream audience, arguing for a reorientation of philanthropic and policy priorities toward safeguarding humanity's future.