This is a linkpost for Shelly Kagan's Ethics and the Future readings
Cowen, Discount Rates Table, Stubborn Attachments (1 page)
gives a quick sense of how even a “modest” discount rate effectively wipes out the significance of the long term future.
Parfit, Reasons and Persons, Appendix F (7 pages)
for arguments against the social discount rate.
Other topics to check out
Expected value of the future![Expected value of the future](https://images.spr.so/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/j42No7y-dcokJuNgXeA0ig/e144aae5-885d-4e6f-a574-3eb4d804f9fd/11._Fuchsia/w=1920,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
Expected value of the future
Is the expected value of the future positive or negative? A crucial consideration for the value of extinction risk reduction.
Existential Risk![Existential Risk](https://images.spr.so/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/j42No7y-dcokJuNgXeA0ig/eb24f36b-c9bd-44e6-865a-576b4d665b25/gradients_10/w=1920,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
Existential Risk
What is an existential risk and what is the case for treating them as a moral priority?