As someone who considers myself both an EA and a socialist (by the normal definition), I am confused by this post :D.
Socialists believe in things like social safety nets, universal health care, equal opportunity education, respect for minorities—essentially, they believe that all humans deserve respect and the chance of a healthy, happy life, regardless of their circumstances of birth.
I think most EA’s believe something similar.
Furthermore, if adopting what you describe as socialist thinking were the best (most effective) way to bring about change, EA’s would support that.
But I don’t think you’ve described socialist thinking, but rather Marxist philosophy.
And so, what you have described is not an attempt to turn EA’s into socialists, but rather an attempt to turn them into Marxists.
The problem with Marxism, as perfectly captured by Bertrand Russell, is that it is a very negative, hate-filled philosophy. It is a bit like MAGA—it is defined by who it hates (the Bourgoisie), it is focused on cutting them down.
EA, on the other hand, is driven by love. It is about helping people, helping animals, helping avoid existential risks. EA’s do not focus on “who are the people we want to hurt?” as Marxists do, but rather on who can we help, and how best can we help them.
In my experience, most socialists (as distinct from Marxists) have a similar philosophy.
“Socialist” is one of those words with a wide and disputed range of meaning. E.g., most members of the Democratic party in the US would endorse “social safety nets, universal health care, equal opportunity education, respect for minorities” but would not self-identify as socialist. They wouldn’t limit that label to Marxism, but most would be generally thinking of a fairly strident anti-capitalist stance. Everything you mentioned is not inconsistent with capitalism with more regulations, taxes, and redistribution.
I upvoted your comment; the linked post would be improved by including an explanation of what OP means by socialism.
E.g., most members of the Democratic party in the US would endorse “social safety nets, universal health care, equal opportunity education, respect for minorities” but would not self-identify as socialist
Many mainstream European politicians would though, whilst happily coexisting with capitalism. Treatment of “socialism” as an extremist concept which even people whose life mission is to expand social safety nets shy away from is US-exceptionalism; in the rest of the world it’s a label embraced by a broad enough spectrum to include both Tony Blair and Pol Pot. So it’s certainly of value to narrow that definition down a bit. :)
As someone who considers myself both an EA and a socialist (by the normal definition), I am confused by this post :D.
Socialists believe in things like social safety nets, universal health care, equal opportunity education, respect for minorities—essentially, they believe that all humans deserve respect and the chance of a healthy, happy life, regardless of their circumstances of birth.
I think most EA’s believe something similar.
Furthermore, if adopting what you describe as socialist thinking were the best (most effective) way to bring about change, EA’s would support that.
But I don’t think you’ve described socialist thinking, but rather Marxist philosophy.
And so, what you have described is not an attempt to turn EA’s into socialists, but rather an attempt to turn them into Marxists.
The problem with Marxism, as perfectly captured by Bertrand Russell, is that it is a very negative, hate-filled philosophy. It is a bit like MAGA—it is defined by who it hates (the Bourgoisie), it is focused on cutting them down.
EA, on the other hand, is driven by love. It is about helping people, helping animals, helping avoid existential risks. EA’s do not focus on “who are the people we want to hurt?” as Marxists do, but rather on who can we help, and how best can we help them.
In my experience, most socialists (as distinct from Marxists) have a similar philosophy.
“Socialist” is one of those words with a wide and disputed range of meaning. E.g., most members of the Democratic party in the US would endorse “social safety nets, universal health care, equal opportunity education, respect for minorities” but would not self-identify as socialist. They wouldn’t limit that label to Marxism, but most would be generally thinking of a fairly strident anti-capitalist stance. Everything you mentioned is not inconsistent with capitalism with more regulations, taxes, and redistribution.
I upvoted your comment; the linked post would be improved by including an explanation of what OP means by socialism.
Many mainstream European politicians would though, whilst happily coexisting with capitalism. Treatment of “socialism” as an extremist concept which even people whose life mission is to expand social safety nets shy away from is US-exceptionalism; in the rest of the world it’s a label embraced by a broad enough spectrum to include both Tony Blair and Pol Pot. So it’s certainly of value to narrow that definition down a bit. :)