Even in face of this particular problem I’m not sure what the right thing to do would be. Famine and COVID would (or already do) kill millions, but sending help would strengthen the regime, which also oppresses the population of ~25 million, enables these catastrophes to begin with, and keeps hundreds of thousands imprisoned in forced labour camps.
I agree, it doesn’t seem like an actionable opportunity to help with our current resources. I’d be more optimistic about sending supplies to reduce suffering because I don’t think mass civilian casualties actually threaten the stability of the regime. But that’s debatable and difficult to do.
I’m mainly interested because the North Korean government seems like one of the largest sources of suffering in the world, and EAs should stay aware of the world’s biggest challenges even if we’re currently better able to help in other places.
Even in face of this particular problem I’m not sure what the right thing to do would be. Famine and COVID would (or already do) kill millions, but sending help would strengthen the regime, which also oppresses the population of ~25 million, enables these catastrophes to begin with, and keeps hundreds of thousands imprisoned in forced labour camps.
I agree, it doesn’t seem like an actionable opportunity to help with our current resources. I’d be more optimistic about sending supplies to reduce suffering because I don’t think mass civilian casualties actually threaten the stability of the regime. But that’s debatable and difficult to do.
I’m mainly interested because the North Korean government seems like one of the largest sources of suffering in the world, and EAs should stay aware of the world’s biggest challenges even if we’re currently better able to help in other places.
I completely agree.
I’d actually be interested to know if there are more developed theories about this (mine sets a pretty low bar).