William MacAskill

Philosopher

If you want to make a difference, should you spend your time working for a charity, or making a fortune in the City and then donating half your income—thus saving more lives in the process? This is the sort of question MacAskill has been wrestling with for years, using rational arguments to uncover the optimum moral course. MacAskill’s organisation 80,000 Hours, named for the amount of time we work over a lifetime, advises individuals on which career path will help them do the most good. His new book, What We Owe the Future, advocates a philosophy of long-termism, arguing we all have a moral obligation to save our dying planet.