How far into the future do you care about? 200 years? Or 2 months? An historian argues that it is only recently when we really only care about our immediate future. By contrast, people before the world wars cared much more for posterity hundreds of years into the future. As a result, while they stewarded their lives and fortunes for the future generations with hope and optimism, we spend and consume voraciously all available resources, and think twice about bearing offspring into this terrible, uncertain world.

This is because the world has become generally pessimistic about the future. It is filled with uncertainties and a big pile of mess we created: environmental deterioration, global warming, nuclear proliferation etc. If we can't be certain of the future, we might as well take all and enjoy while we can, no? Or we can choose to undo the mess we created and make the world a better place for ourselves and the future generations?