The Toxic Ideology of Longtermism — Alice Crary, Radical Philosophy (2023)

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The intellectual movement that calls itself longtermism is an outgrowth of Effective Altruism (EA), a utilitarianism-inspired philanthropic programme founded just over a decade ago by Oxford philosophers Toby Ord and William MacAskill. EA, which claims to guide charitable giving to do the ‘most good’ per expenditure of time or money, originally focused on mitigating the effects of poverty in the global South and the treatment of animals in factory farms. [1](https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/commentary/the-toxic-ideology-of-longtermism#fn1) This initially modestly-funded, Oxford-based enterprise soon had satellites in the UK, US and elsewhere in the world, several of which became multi-million-dollar organisations, while the amount of money directed by EA-affiliated groups swelled to over four hundred million dollars annually, with pledges in the tens of billions. [2](https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/commentary/the-toxic-ideology-of-longtermism#fn2) During this period, Ord and MacAskill starting using the term ‘longtermism’ to mark a view championed by members of a conspicuous subset of effective altruists, many affiliated with Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute. The view is that humanity is at a crossroads at which we may either self-destruct or realise a glorious future, and that we should prioritise responding to threats to the continued existence of human civilisation. The ‘existential risks’ – to use the term introduced by Oxford philosopher and Future of Humanity Institute founder Nick Bostrom [3](https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/commentary/the-toxic-ideology-of-longtermism#fn3) – that longtermists rank as most probable are AI unaligned with liberal values and deadly engineered pathogens. They urge us to combat these risks to make it likelier that humans (or our digitally intelligent descendants) will live on for millions, billions or even trillions of years, surviving until long after the sun has vaporised the earth, by colonising exoplanets.

Ord published a monograph defending a longtermist stance in early 2020, and MacAskill followed suit in the summer of 2022. [4](https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/commentary/the-toxic-ideology-of-longtermism#fn4) Ord’s book received plaudits in high-profile venues, [5](https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/commentary/the-toxic-ideology-of-longtermism#fn5) and MacAskill’s was a best-seller that came with a blitz of largely positive media attention, including a _New Yorker_ profile, a review featured on the cover of _Time_, and an appearance on _The Daily Show_, as well as an endorsement from Elon Musk. [6](https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/commentary/the-toxic-ideology-of-longtermism#fn6) This was the coming out party for a tradition t

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