BBC Future at Hay Festival: How to think longer-term

09 July 2019

At the Hay Festival, BBC Future assembled three thinkers from the worlds of philosophy, politics and science to discuss one of the most pressing questions of our time: how to tackle society’s habit of “short-termism” - and what it might take to lengthen our perspective and reconsider the well-being of future generations.

This includes Martin Rees, author of the book On The Future and co-founder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk; Sophie Howe, the future generations commissioner for Wales; and philosopher Roman Krznaric.

What will our descendants make of how we acted in 2019? The world faces multi-generational challenges like climate change, poverty or antibiotic overuse. But for much of the time, our eyes remain locked on the present. Each news cycle brings a moment or event that consumes all of our attention, even if its effects are ultimately transient.

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