It’s true that political action is a necessary step towards achieving meaningful, lasting change.
I realise that these articles are meant for a popular audience. However, I was surprised to see this extremely strong claim—the idea that meaningful and lasting change is literally impossible without political action—asserted without any evidence, as if it were self-evident. If anything it seems self-evidently false to me.
For a small-scale example, consider rescuing the archetypal child drowning in a pond. Saving the child is meaningful; doing so might be one of the best things you ever do in your entire life. And the child might easily live another 80 years, outlasting many policies and countries, not to mention the potential for the child to one day have their own children, so it seems like a lasting change. Just because it isn’t political doesn’t mean we should dismiss this.
For a much larger impact, consider Norman Borlaug. His scientific work on new crop varieties hugely increased our capacity to produce food; the common quote that he saved a billion people is probably an exaggeration, but this work clearly had an extraordinarily positive impact on many millions of people. It is true that he did work with governments, but the core of his achievement was scientific, not ‘political action’.
Closer to home, consider GWWC itself. I suspect you would agree that GWWC has had a very meaningful impact, and GWWC, the EA movement it spawned, and the downstream consequences, seem likely to persist for some time. Yet even though some GWWC members have tried to influence politics, the central impacts and original motivation was about individual contributions, not political lobbying.
Indeed, this claim is directly contradicted later in the article:
Charity, however, can also play an important role in improving the world. It can help improve lives directly by, for example, providing support to low-income communities. There are some highly effective charities that alleviate suffering, reduce the burdens of disease, and help children receive an education. These are amazing giving opportunities, and many of them will have a lasting impact.
Overall I feel like this article bends over backward to be positive towards political action. Even the ‘Importance of Charity’ section spends around 2⁄3 of the time talking about why charity is good for politics, which seems very misleading. Yes, if we save a girl from malaria, maybe she will grow up to be a politician… but that’s not why we donate to AMF. We donate because malaria is bad and causes a lot of suffering directly. I would rather see this section focus on the core, true reason, rather than a rather tertiary one. Not only would this be more honest, I also think it would be more persuasive.
I think a more balanced approach also would include criticism of demagoguery, including perhaps some of the points mentioned here. Your aim should not just be to merely persuade the reader that charity is acceptable, but that the types of charity we support are significantly better than most popular political causes. After all, often political action leads to meaningful and lasting negative change!
When I first read it, I assumed that “meaningful, lasting change” meant “all the kinds of changes we want,” rather than “any particular change.” Maybe that’s what the authors intended. But on rereading I think your interpretation is more correct.
I realise that these articles are meant for a popular audience. However, I was surprised to see this extremely strong claim—the idea that meaningful and lasting change is literally impossible without political action—asserted without any evidence, as if it were self-evident. If anything it seems self-evidently false to me.
For a small-scale example, consider rescuing the archetypal child drowning in a pond. Saving the child is meaningful; doing so might be one of the best things you ever do in your entire life. And the child might easily live another 80 years, outlasting many policies and countries, not to mention the potential for the child to one day have their own children, so it seems like a lasting change. Just because it isn’t political doesn’t mean we should dismiss this.
For a much larger impact, consider Norman Borlaug. His scientific work on new crop varieties hugely increased our capacity to produce food; the common quote that he saved a billion people is probably an exaggeration, but this work clearly had an extraordinarily positive impact on many millions of people. It is true that he did work with governments, but the core of his achievement was scientific, not ‘political action’.
Closer to home, consider GWWC itself. I suspect you would agree that GWWC has had a very meaningful impact, and GWWC, the EA movement it spawned, and the downstream consequences, seem likely to persist for some time. Yet even though some GWWC members have tried to influence politics, the central impacts and original motivation was about individual contributions, not political lobbying.
Indeed, this claim is directly contradicted later in the article:
Overall I feel like this article bends over backward to be positive towards political action. Even the ‘Importance of Charity’ section spends around 2⁄3 of the time talking about why charity is good for politics, which seems very misleading. Yes, if we save a girl from malaria, maybe she will grow up to be a politician… but that’s not why we donate to AMF. We donate because malaria is bad and causes a lot of suffering directly. I would rather see this section focus on the core, true reason, rather than a rather tertiary one. Not only would this be more honest, I also think it would be more persuasive.
I think a more balanced approach also would include criticism of demagoguery, including perhaps some of the points mentioned here. Your aim should not just be to merely persuade the reader that charity is acceptable, but that the types of charity we support are significantly better than most popular political causes. After all, often political action leads to meaningful and lasting negative change!
When I first read it, I assumed that “meaningful, lasting change” meant “all the kinds of changes we want,” rather than “any particular change.” Maybe that’s what the authors intended. But on rereading I think your interpretation is more correct.