Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching, wrote, ‘The Sage holds on to the One and in this way becomes the shepherd of the world. He does not show himself off; therefore he becomes prominent. He does not put himself on display; therefore he brightly shines. He does not brag about himself; therefore he receives credit. He does not praise his own deeds; therefore he can long endure. It is only because he does not compete that, therefore, no one is able to compete with him.

This suggests that, as longtermists, when trying to improve society’s values, we should focus on promoting more abstract or general moral principles or, when promoting particular moral actions, tie them into a more general worldview. This helps ensure that these moral changes stay relevant and robustly positive into the future.

They thought that, if you made a lifelong commitment to self-improvement, you could transform spiritually into a sage. They likened cultivating your character to craftsmanship: cutting bone, carving a piece of horn, or polishing a piece of jade.

When we look at history, we see that the predominant culture in a society tends to entrench itself, eliminate the competition, and take steps to replicate itself over time. Indeed, many moral views regard their own lock-in as desirable.

Schein et al. 2020; Green and McClellan 2020.” (notes to footnote 24, Chapter 10, p.234)