What I most often hear recommended as the single most effective way to donate is to an organization that buys bed-nets to africa to protect people from malaria. What’s the problem with that?
“Effective Altruism” is the name of a very specific ideology. Many proponents of that ideology support “longtermism” and therefore spend money on things they claim or believe will prevent huge disasters in the future. So, many spend insane amounts on space colonisation / rockets, in the AI bubble etc. Anything really as long as it doesn’t really help anyone. The ideology is often the patchwork to rationalise why that is actually to the greater good or something.
You’re not WRONG in your thinking or approach. It’s just that there are now 2 versions of EA. One that normal people like us practice, and the ultra rich crowd that uses inherently unpredictable and nebulous outcomes in the future to justify anything and everything that they want to.
Because of what prominent proponents of “effective altruism” actually donate to.
What I most often hear recommended as the single most effective way to donate is to an organization that buys bed-nets to africa to protect people from malaria. What’s the problem with that?
What do you think they donate to?
“Effective Altruism” is the name of a very specific ideology. Many proponents of that ideology support “longtermism” and therefore spend money on things they claim or believe will prevent huge disasters in the future. So, many spend insane amounts on space colonisation / rockets, in the AI bubble etc. Anything really as long as it doesn’t really help anyone. The ideology is often the patchwork to rationalise why that is actually to the greater good or something.
You’re not WRONG in your thinking or approach. It’s just that there are now 2 versions of EA. One that normal people like us practice, and the ultra rich crowd that uses inherently unpredictable and nebulous outcomes in the future to justify anything and everything that they want to.