# Straight Dope 1/13/2023: Is longtermism the world's most dangerous belief system?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-dope-1-13-2023-is-longtermism-the-worlds-most-dangerous-belief-system/978173>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [January 13, 2023, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-dope-1-13-2023-is-longtermism-the-worlds-most-dangerous-belief-system/978173 "2023-01-13T15:30:00Z")\
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**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\
**Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-dope-1-13-2023-is-longtermism-the-worlds-most-dangerous-belief-system/978173/17 "2023-01-13T18:55:52Z")

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What about effective altruism’s evil twin, [Roko's basilisk - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roko%27s_basilisk)? The possibility of near-infinite future torment as opposed to mere extinction?

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