I do basically think that EA could learn a lot of things from SJ in terms of being an inclusive movement. I think it’s possible that there’s a lot of value to be had (in EA terms) in continuing to increase the inclusivity of EA.
I agree that part of the issue is who feels empowered to make a difference. Part of this is because SJ, in my view, often focuses on things that are not very marginally impactful, but to which many people can contribute. However, I am very excited about recent efforts within the EA community to support a variety of career paths and routes to impact beyond the main ones identified by main EA orgs.
Thanks for listing this as one of your five topics of interest and thanks to everyone for insightful comments.
I do basically think that EA could learn a lot of things from SJ in terms of being an inclusive movement.
I wholeheartedly agree.
Beyond movement building & inclusivity, I’d be curious to hear about other domains where you think that EA could learn from the social justice movement/​philosophy? E.g., in terms of the methodologies and academic disciplines that the respective movements tend to rely on, epistemic norms, ethical frameworks, etc.
Beyond movement building & inclusivity, I think it makes sense for EA as a movement to keep their current approach because it’s been working pretty well IMO.
I think the thing EAs as people (with a worldview that includes things beyond EA) might want to consider—and which SJ could inform—is the demands that historical injustices of, e.g., colonialism, racism, etc. make on us. I think those demands are plausibly quite large and failure to satisfy them could constitute a ongoing moral catastrophe. Since they’re not welfarist, they’re outside the scope of EA as it currently exists. But for moral uncertainty reasons I think many people should think about them.
I do basically think that EA could learn a lot of things from SJ in terms of being an inclusive movement. I think it’s possible that there’s a lot of value to be had (in EA terms) in continuing to increase the inclusivity of EA.
I agree that part of the issue is who feels empowered to make a difference. Part of this is because SJ, in my view, often focuses on things that are not very marginally impactful, but to which many people can contribute. However, I am very excited about recent efforts within the EA community to support a variety of career paths and routes to impact beyond the main ones identified by main EA orgs.
Thanks for listing this as one of your five topics of interest and thanks to everyone for insightful comments.
I wholeheartedly agree.
Beyond movement building & inclusivity, I’d be curious to hear about other domains where you think that EA could learn from the social justice movement/​philosophy? E.g., in terms of the methodologies and academic disciplines that the respective movements tend to rely on, epistemic norms, ethical frameworks, etc.
Beyond movement building & inclusivity, I think it makes sense for EA as a movement to keep their current approach because it’s been working pretty well IMO.
I think the thing EAs as people (with a worldview that includes things beyond EA) might want to consider—and which SJ could inform—is the demands that historical injustices of, e.g., colonialism, racism, etc. make on us. I think those demands are plausibly quite large and failure to satisfy them could constitute a ongoing moral catastrophe. Since they’re not welfarist, they’re outside the scope of EA as it currently exists. But for moral uncertainty reasons I think many people should think about them.