If you believe that existential risk is literally the most important issue in the world and that we will be facing possible extinction events imminently, then it follows that we can’t wait to develop a mass movement and that we need to find a way to make the small, exceptional group strategy work (although, we may also spread low-level EA, but not as our focus)
I suspect that most EAs would agree that spreading low-level EA is worthwhile. The first question is whether this should be the focus/a major focus (as noted above). The second question is whether this should occur within EA or be a spin-off/a set of spin-offs. For example, I would really like to see an Effective Environmentalism movement.
Some people take issue with the name Effective Altruism because it implies that everything else is Ineffective Altruism. Your suggestion might mitigate this to a certain extent, but we really need better names!
I agree that if one thinks that x-risk is an immediate concern, then one should focus specifically on that now. This is explicitly a long-term strategy, so assumes that there will be a long term.
A few thoughts:
If you believe that existential risk is literally the most important issue in the world and that we will be facing possible extinction events imminently, then it follows that we can’t wait to develop a mass movement and that we need to find a way to make the small, exceptional group strategy work (although, we may also spread low-level EA, but not as our focus)
I suspect that most EAs would agree that spreading low-level EA is worthwhile. The first question is whether this should be the focus/a major focus (as noted above). The second question is whether this should occur within EA or be a spin-off/a set of spin-offs. For example, I would really like to see an Effective Environmentalism movement.
Some people take issue with the name Effective Altruism because it implies that everything else is Ineffective Altruism. Your suggestion might mitigate this to a certain extent, but we really need better names!
I agree that if one thinks that x-risk is an immediate concern, then one should focus specifically on that now. This is explicitly a long-term strategy, so assumes that there will be a long term.