The logic of the conservation paradigm ignores that natural and historic processes of change and transformation are the origin and driver of human civilization and heritage on Earth, not their enemy. As all human actions necessarily contribute to the human legacy, even the destruction of parts of the existing cultural heritage contributes to contemporary future-making and will inform future generations’ understandings of their past. The future should be seen as a process of continuing transformation and change which we cannot always steer but to which we can adapt; it does not only harbour risks but also opportunities. The most important question is not how much, and which heritage of any one period may or may not survive into the future but what legacy, which we construct and leave behind, will come to benefit future generations the most. Heritage conservation and any decisions about reconstruction must be informed by the question of what we want the heritage to do in, and to society in order to create specific benefits for present and future generations.