Answer:
Most people think we should have some concern for future generations, but this obvious sounding idea leads to a surprising conclusion.
Since the future is big, there could be far more people in the future than in the present generation. This means that if you want to help people in general, your key concern shouldn’t be to help the present generation, but to ensure that the future goes well in the long-term. Previously, we called this the “long-term value thesis”, though it is now most commonly called ‘longtermism’.
This thesis is often confused with the claim that we shouldn’t do anything to help people in the present generation. But the long-term value thesis is about what most matters – what we should do about it is a further question. It might turn out that the best way to help those in the future is to improve the lives of people in the present, such as through providing health and education. The difference is that the major reason to help those in the present is to improve the long-term.