Ah, right. Yes, regardless of what we call him, this is undoubtedly a significant milestone in the historical development of longtermism. (I’m not personally comfortable with calling Ramsey or anyone else the “first” [qualification] longtermist because I think longtermism involves multiple claims, not just an endorsement of a zero discount rate, although that claim is clearly a central one.)
I’d love to see more posts exploring early longtermist or proto-longtermist thinking!
Ah, right. Yes, regardless of what we call him, this is undoubtedly a significant milestone in the historical development of longtermism. (I’m not personally comfortable with calling Ramsey or anyone else the “first” [qualification] longtermist because I think longtermism involves multiple claims, not just an endorsement of a zero discount rate, although that claim is clearly a central one.)
I’d love to see more posts exploring early longtermist or proto-longtermist thinking!