Yes, this seems accurate. I’ve spent some time in liberal/left spaces talking about EA with folks who highly prioritize pro-choice policy in their politics (say that 5 times fast!). If they viewed OP’s arguments as being roughly synonymous with EA as a whole (it’s not, but that doesn’t mean the impression couldn’t exist) it would be totally understandable, I think, for them to dismiss the rest of EA. “This community doesn’t share my values,” they might say, as bruce alludes to.
Personally, I think EA is very, very compatible with mainstream left-of-center liberalism/leftism, and, in my view, a pro-choice ethic is probably a very significant part of that. Not to say that OP’s view is indefensible; it’s just that I think there is a tension between their stated arguments and the broader values and politics that are the foundation of most EA’s actually-existing political views.
Tentatively, I’m imagining there are a number of EAs who identify as longtermist first, and, to them, OP’s argument would have some purchase. Then there’s a second group who may find longtermism interesting, but they still have other commitments that they’re prioritizing (liberalism, rights, leftism, social justice, global health, and so on), and they’re unlikely to forsake those views in favor of a longtermist proposal that is, in a sense, pretty radical. I suspect the second group is larger than the first, but the impression that the former group is central to EA could lead to people viewing EA as not worth the time.
the impression that the former group is central to EA could lead to people viewing EA as not worth the time.
You’re completely right that EA should strive to be a big tent and alienate as few people as possible. Do you think it’s possible that the impression that EA is “very, very compatible with mainstream left-of-center liberalism/leftism” could contribute to less than 1% of EAs identifying as politically “right”?
Given this information, how do you think we should prioritize between appeals to one political group which could alienate a different political group?
(Note that I’m not arguing here that this particular post helps avoid alienating potential EAs on net—just that there are other groups we should consider too when thinking about what EA can do to help more people feel we’re compatible with their values.)
Yes, this seems accurate. I’ve spent some time in liberal/left spaces talking about EA with folks who highly prioritize pro-choice policy in their politics (say that 5 times fast!). If they viewed OP’s arguments as being roughly synonymous with EA as a whole (it’s not, but that doesn’t mean the impression couldn’t exist) it would be totally understandable, I think, for them to dismiss the rest of EA. “This community doesn’t share my values,” they might say, as bruce alludes to.
Personally, I think EA is very, very compatible with mainstream left-of-center liberalism/leftism, and, in my view, a pro-choice ethic is probably a very significant part of that. Not to say that OP’s view is indefensible; it’s just that I think there is a tension between their stated arguments and the broader values and politics that are the foundation of most EA’s actually-existing political views.
Tentatively, I’m imagining there are a number of EAs who identify as longtermist first, and, to them, OP’s argument would have some purchase. Then there’s a second group who may find longtermism interesting, but they still have other commitments that they’re prioritizing (liberalism, rights, leftism, social justice, global health, and so on), and they’re unlikely to forsake those views in favor of a longtermist proposal that is, in a sense, pretty radical. I suspect the second group is larger than the first, but the impression that the former group is central to EA could lead to people viewing EA as not worth the time.
You’re completely right that EA should strive to be a big tent and alienate as few people as possible. Do you think it’s possible that the impression that EA is “very, very compatible with mainstream left-of-center liberalism/leftism” could contribute to less than 1% of EAs identifying as politically “right”?
(source)
Given this information, how do you think we should prioritize between appeals to one political group which could alienate a different political group?
(Note that I’m not arguing here that this particular post helps avoid alienating potential EAs on net—just that there are other groups we should consider too when thinking about what EA can do to help more people feel we’re compatible with their values.)