“But does not everyone do that? I mean, they should think about effectiveness and all that! It is the only sensible thing to do.”
If only! I think from the inside (and, it seems, some people on the outside), EA can seem “obvious”, at least in the core / fundamentals. But I think most philanthropy is not done like this still, even among people who spend a lot of time and effort on it.
For example, the idea that we should compare between different cause areas or that we should be neutral between helping those in our own country vs. those abroad still seem relative minority positions to me.
If only! I think from the inside (and, it seems, some people on the outside), EA can seem “obvious”, at least in the core / fundamentals. But I think most philanthropy is not done like this still, even among people who spend a lot of time and effort on it.
For example, the idea that we should compare between different cause areas or that we should be neutral between helping those in our own country vs. those abroad still seem relative minority positions to me.