I have a new publication, in which I argue that considering the welfare of future generations supports moving our economic system away from capitalism. You can read it here (open access).
This result is somewhat surprising since focus on future welfare has been a preoccupation of (one strand of) effective altruism, which has been associated with an uncritical acceptance of capitalism. I generally think effective altruists get a lot right, but so do socialists, and combining the two traditions can improve both. See also here and here.
One more interesting thing about this paper is that it’s basically an economics paper – in the sense that it’s about how the economy works (and ought to work). Several economists helped me think through the issues. But it would be impossible to publish it in an economics journal, I think: not simply because of the anticapitalist conclusion, but more because economics these days prefers modest, quantifiable work to big sweeping ideas. I think we need both.
Nikhil Venkatesh 