Why do people care about the species instead of just themselves? By caring about just ourselves civilization as we know it is possible because it allows us to get all these benefits that we get out of it, with cooperation and all that, so we have a personal interest in maintaining a cooperative, lawful, even moral, society, but the question is, since theres nothing in it for us when we're dead, why do you think people would or should give thought of preserving and safeguarding and looking out for unborn generations? Is it merely the genius of evolution allowing us to realize that its not us, but the species, that matters and so we as individuals actually ultimately value humanity as a whole and not just ourselves and whats in it for us?
Many people come to this conclusion, and see no need to arrange their lives to leave anything left after their death. But since I'm likely to outlive an 80 year old, I have a motivation to punish and condemn his short-term thinking. And people who're younger than me will do the same thing to me. Societally, we accept the meme that we should 'think about future generations' even though individuals will reject the idea.
(On a side note, since I believe that aging should be cured, I think that many more people should adopt long-term thinking systems)
I personally feel a moral burden to unborn people, but I don't think that it's the same moral burden that exists for currently existing people. If the world is worse in 20 years (because of short-term thinkers) then prospective parents should make a value judgement about whether it's moral to bring a life into this 'worse' world. However, since I know that people will continue to birth children, I should know enough to try to preserve the planet (where I can) to improve that child's life.
The child born in 20 years is pretty well guaranteed to exist, and so I can easily know that harming the planet (in whatever way we want to talk about) is going to harm that child. The only real way of justifying this potential harm, then, is to benefit people who are already living. I don't think anyone today should starve to death to make sure some future person has food; if there's only enough food for one person, it should be for the person who's alive right now
Though I agree that it's a balancing act.
Though, more on-topic, there are people who think that we have a moral
duty to DIE for the benefit of the species. I just cannot accept that type of thinking. For example: in this
The-Scientist article about offsetting aging, some commenters think that it is a morally wrong action.
