Longtermism, Big Tech, and the Rebalancing of Historical Time: A Benjaminian Critique

Abstract

Longtermist ideas and language have become an important ideological source for elite figures in Big Tech today. This article critiques longtermism, arguing that it constructs an increasingly influential temporal plane that rebalances our grasp of historical time. Building on historical theory, this article argues that longtermism’s historical time is distinct from that of “modern” progress as well as presentism. To not only critique but to resist this historical time, this article draws on Walter Benjamin’s philosophy of history and methodology of actualization, arguing for the development and use of methods of resistance that pierce and disturb the historical continuum emanating from longtermism.