A general class of problems for effective altruists is the following:
In some domains, there are a finite number of positions through which high-impact good can be done. These positions tend to be prestigious (perhaps rationally, perhaps not). So, there is strong zero-sum competition for these positions. The limiting factor is that effective altruists face steep competition for these positions against other well-intentioned people who are just not perfectly aligned on one or more crucial issues.
One common approach is to really help the effective altruists to break through this competition. But this is hard. Another common approach is to try to convince non-effective altruists who have successfully broken into these positions to be more EA-aligned. But convincing experienced people is often difficult (you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, generally speaking).
A thought I can’t shake is that if we could reduce the competition somehow (expand the pie, target young and high-potential people, and more controversially, to convince non-EA-aligned people to drop out of the race) it would be much more feasible.
A general class of problems for effective altruists is the following:
In some domains, there are a finite number of positions through which high-impact good can be done. These positions tend to be prestigious (perhaps rationally, perhaps not). So, there is strong zero-sum competition for these positions. The limiting factor is that effective altruists face steep competition for these positions against other well-intentioned people who are just not perfectly aligned on one or more crucial issues.
One common approach is to really help the effective altruists to break through this competition. But this is hard. Another common approach is to try to convince non-effective altruists who have successfully broken into these positions to be more EA-aligned. But convincing experienced people is often difficult (you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, generally speaking).
A thought I can’t shake is that if we could reduce the competition somehow (expand the pie, target young and high-potential people, and more controversially, to convince non-EA-aligned people to drop out of the race) it would be much more feasible.