Jonas Pöld

Institute for Ethics, History and Theory of Medicine, University of Münster

Longtermism is the ethical viewpoint that the decisive factor in evaluation of our actions is their impact on the distant future (Ord 2020; Greaves & MacAskill 2021). This thesis is motivated by the vast potential for the existence of beings with moral status that the future holds, and whose lives are being shaped – for better or worse – by present actions (or omissions). It has already been noted in the literature that longtermists face the problems of influencing the distant future in a controlled manner (Tarsney 2023) and of potentially neglecting the rights of present generations (Crary 2023; Lundgren & Kudlek 2024). Longtermist positions appear to focus almost exclusively on future lives and thus face the objection that they demand too much of present generations.

However, the concrete consequences of longtermism for practical decision-making processes remain largely unexplored. In this talk, I discuss the implications of longtermist premises for applied questions in medical ethics, focusing on germline interventions (1) and distributive justice in the intergenerational allocation of healthcare resources (2). This analysis requires a critical examination of the ambiguities surrounding the ‘safeguarding principle’ frequently advocated by longtermists (MacAskill 2023). My thesis is that there is considerable potential in combining longtermist strategising with sustainability efforts to strike a reasonable balance between the rights of both present and future generations.