I agree that SJ is more diffuse and less central—I think this is one of the reasons thinking of it in terms of a movement that one might ally with is a little unnatural to me. I also agree that EA is more centralised and purposeful.
Your point that about what level of discourse suggests what kind of engagement is also a good one. I think this also links to the issue that (in my view) it’s in the nature of EA that there’s a ‘thick’ and a ‘thin’ version of EA in terms of the people involved. Here ‘thick’ is a movement of people who self-identify as EA and see themselves as part a strong social and intellectual community, and who are influenced by movement leaders and shapers.
Then there’s a ‘thin’ version that includes people who might do one or multiple of the following (a) work in EA-endorsed cause areas with EA-compatible approaches (b) find EA frameworks and literature useful to draw on (among other frameworks) (c) are generally supportive of or friendly towards some or most of the goals of EA, without necessarily making EA a core part of their identity or seeing themselves as being part of a movement. With so many people who interact with EA working primarily in cause areas rather than ‘central movement’ EA per se, my sense is this ‘thin’ EA or EA-adjacent set of people is reasonably large.
It might make perfect sense for ‘thick EA’ leaders to think of EA vs SJ in terms of movements, alliances, and competition for talent. While at the same time, this might be a less intuitive and more uncomfortable way for ‘thin EA’ folk to see the interaction being described and playing out. While I don’t have answers, I think it’s worth being mindful that there may be some tension there.
Thanks all! This is a good, useful discussion. I wanted to clarify slightly but what I mean when I say EA is the “better” ideology. Mainly, I mean that EA is better at guiding my actions in a way that augments my ethical impact much more than SJ does. They’re primarily rivalrous only insofar as I can only make a limited number of ethical deliberations per day, and EA considerations more strongly optimize for impact than SJ considerations.
Thanks Vaidehi, these are very good points.
I agree that SJ is more diffuse and less central—I think this is one of the reasons thinking of it in terms of a movement that one might ally with is a little unnatural to me. I also agree that EA is more centralised and purposeful.
Your point that about what level of discourse suggests what kind of engagement is also a good one. I think this also links to the issue that (in my view) it’s in the nature of EA that there’s a ‘thick’ and a ‘thin’ version of EA in terms of the people involved. Here ‘thick’ is a movement of people who self-identify as EA and see themselves as part a strong social and intellectual community, and who are influenced by movement leaders and shapers.
Then there’s a ‘thin’ version that includes people who might do one or multiple of the following (a) work in EA-endorsed cause areas with EA-compatible approaches (b) find EA frameworks and literature useful to draw on (among other frameworks) (c) are generally supportive of or friendly towards some or most of the goals of EA, without necessarily making EA a core part of their identity or seeing themselves as being part of a movement. With so many people who interact with EA working primarily in cause areas rather than ‘central movement’ EA per se, my sense is this ‘thin’ EA or EA-adjacent set of people is reasonably large.
It might make perfect sense for ‘thick EA’ leaders to think of EA vs SJ in terms of movements, alliances, and competition for talent. While at the same time, this might be a less intuitive and more uncomfortable way for ‘thin EA’ folk to see the interaction being described and playing out. While I don’t have answers, I think it’s worth being mindful that there may be some tension there.
Thanks all! This is a good, useful discussion. I wanted to clarify slightly but what I mean when I say EA is the “better” ideology. Mainly, I mean that EA is better at guiding my actions in a way that augments my ethical impact much more than SJ does. They’re primarily rivalrous only insofar as I can only make a limited number of ethical deliberations per day, and EA considerations more strongly optimize for impact than SJ considerations.