Hmm tough question... way deeper than at first we think... It could be answered on so many levels... I will choose two..
1) in some ways yes, people of the present have more value because they are here, present and real.. we have a duty to care for them, look after them, help them and ensure they have what they need to survive and thrive. We cannot value people who are not entities and who are only a vague concept.. how do we know there even will be a future, or that there will be people to value? We don't so all we can do is concentrate on now...
However.... 2) that doesn't mean that we of the present should be allowed to jeapodise the future of generations yet to come by our greed and selfishness.. There was a buzzword a few years ago *sustainability* - I loved that word.. it resonated so deeply with me.. *everyone* was using it, councils, Government, everyone.. Few really knew what it meant but it meant things like, passing on to the future generations a world which is at least as rich, (and I DONT mean money here!) as the one we inherited... It means not damaging the world to such an extent that we cause future generations problems that they have to solve, or a world less able to support and sustain their needs because we have used all the resources. SO I guess I am saying that; that we should not take more than we need and we should protect wildlife and natural places and resources...and not pass on a world that is more impoverished than the one we came into.
Every person is on their own Soul journey whether they are here now or here later, and Every life is very valuable and important to each person on their path through the world on their way to self knowledge.
Pearl 