We are too selfish to ever care enough about future generations to make any significant difference!

Heilbroner, in his piece asks the loaded question of “why should we care about future people or whether humanity survives in the distant future?” He admits that reason alone won’t drive us care enough about these future generations to actually do something about preserving their future. So he poses an idea, with the help of Smith, that we should use our inner consciousness and, “our love of what is honorable and noble, of the grandeur and dignity, and superiority of our own characteristics” to give us the drive to preserve the future of mankind. I personally think that although this is a great idea, it is just that, an idea. Not a practical answer to his question asked. I think humans are simply too selfish to ever fully adopt the plan to “save” or “preserve” future generations. If reason itself doesn’t compel us help preserve them (and reason is usually the only thing that can make people do things), I think it is ridiculous to think that people will accept the enormous actions that need to be taken for this plan to work because it is honorable, for our dignity, or because it is noble and the right thing to do. I think it’s ridiculous. A few, and definitely not enough to even matter, may be compelled to preserve future generations because of this reason, but most, the large majority of people, will never accept reasons such as dignity or honor as reasons to change any behavior of theirs.
Not only do I disagree with these abstract moral reasons for preserving future peoples, because I don’t think it’s even possible, but I also disagree with Heilbroner’s concept that if we aren’t changing our ways we are “the executioners of mankind” or “that we are passing the ax of the executioner off to the next generation”. I think the prosperity of future generations is up to them. Sounds mean, but who is to say that by preserving our resources and controlling our population numbers we will be making life any better for future generations? For all we know, in the year 3075, a group of people will decide to make a bomb that blows up the entire world. That has nothing to do with us, in this day and age. That particular generation decided to be “the executioners of mankind.” If that were to occur, all of our sacrifice and hard work would be ruined by some future generation, not by us. Even though it sounds selfish, I think we should enjoy ourselves now, while we can. No one knows what the future holds. So who is to say we are making any kind or “horrible difference” with our current actions? And who is to say we would me making some kind of “great improvement” by changing our ways? No one can tell us that, and that is why I think too many people today will not buy into the sacrifices that go along with trying to “preserve future generations”. No one really cares, whether it’s because reason can’t make them care, or because they don’t buy into the honor and dignity idea, they simply don’t care enough to change. And even if either of these reasons can make some people care, it won’t be enough to matter, or to make any significant difference. So let’s have fun while we’re here and let the future generations worry about themselves when that time comes, because they will most likely be trying to “have fun while they are here” as well. So why should we be the saviors if they will most likely screw it up later anyway?