I think most of the article is pretty stock-standard, but I did want to elucidate a novel angle to replying to these kinds of critiques if you see them around:
When Notre Dame caught on fire in 2019, affluent people in France rushed to donate to repair the cathedral, a beloved national landmark. Mr. Singer wrote an essay questioning the donations, asking: How many lives could have been saved with the charitable funds devoted to repairing this landmark?
This was when a critique of effective altruism crystallized for Ms. Schiller. “He’s asking the wrong question,” she recalled thinking at the time. She wanted to know: How could anyone put a numerical value on a holy space?
Ms. Schiller had first become uncomfortable with effective altruism while working as a fund-raising consultant. She encountered donors who told her, effectively, “I’m looking for the best bang for my buck.” They just wanted to know their money was well spent. That made sense, though Ms. Schiller couldn’t help but feel there was something missing in this approach. It turned the search for a charitable cause into an exercise of bargain hunting.
The school of philanthropy that Ms. Schiller now proposes focuses on “magnificence.” In studying the literal meaning of philanthropy — “love of humanity” in Greek — she decided we need charitable causes that make people’s lives feel meaningful, radiant, sacred. Think nature conservancies, cultural centers and places of worship. These are institutions that lend life its texture and color, and not just bare bones existence.
I’d humbly propose that, without good guardrails, this kind of thinking has good shot at turning racist/anglo-centric. It’s notable, of course, that the article mentioned the Notre Dame, and not the ongoing destruction of religious history in Gaza or Syria or Afghanistan or Sudan or Ukraine (for example). If critics of EA don’t examine their own biases about what constitutes ‘magnificence’, they risk contributing to worldviews that they probably abhor. Moreover, in many of these cases, these kinds of fundraisers contribute to projects that should be—and usually otherwise would be—funded by government.
If you value civic life and culture, but only contribute to your local, Western civic life and culture, then you are a schmuck and have been taken advantage of by politicians who want to cut taxes for the wealthy. Please, at least direct your giving outward.
It’s notable, of course, that the article mentioned the Notre Dame, and not the ongoing destruction of religious history in Gaza or Syria or Afghanistan or Sudan or Ukraine (for example
Not really. Notre Dame was mentioned because some prominent EAs have criticised its expensive restoration project as being an inappropriate use of philanthropic funding. As far as I’m aware, prominent EAs haven’t devoted the same criticism to the opulence of Hindu or Buddhist monuments or attempts to protect antiquities in conflict zones, and I don’t think that makes them racist or anglo-centric either.
Now people can and do make arguments for preserving archaeological sites in poorer countries on the grounds of them being more vulnerable and less expensive to repair which is essentially a cost-effectiveness argument. No doubt they would agree with your suggestion to direct giving outward, but I don’t think that group overlaps with EAs at all. (And for those who think that rebuilding destroyed historical sites are a valid use of philanthropic funding there are also obvious arguments that people reasonably prefer to donate to things that they can see and that can be enjoyed by millions of people over, say, the restoration of the Bamiyan Buddhas in a remote area of a wartorn country since taken over by the entity which originally intentionally destroyed them. Nevertheless, there were serious discussions about restoring the Bamiyan Buddhas prior to the Taliban resurgence, but I don’t think EA had anything to do with any of the debate)
I think most of the article is pretty stock-standard, but I did want to elucidate a novel angle to replying to these kinds of critiques if you see them around:
I’d humbly propose that, without good guardrails, this kind of thinking has good shot at turning racist/anglo-centric. It’s notable, of course, that the article mentioned the Notre Dame, and not the ongoing destruction of religious history in Gaza or Syria or Afghanistan or Sudan or Ukraine (for example). If critics of EA don’t examine their own biases about what constitutes ‘magnificence’, they risk contributing to worldviews that they probably abhor. Moreover, in many of these cases, these kinds of fundraisers contribute to projects that should be—and usually otherwise would be—funded by government.
If you value civic life and culture, but only contribute to your local, Western civic life and culture, then you are a schmuck and have been taken advantage of by politicians who want to cut taxes for the wealthy. Please, at least direct your giving outward.
Not really. Notre Dame was mentioned because some prominent EAs have criticised its expensive restoration project as being an inappropriate use of philanthropic funding. As far as I’m aware, prominent EAs haven’t devoted the same criticism to the opulence of Hindu or Buddhist monuments or attempts to protect antiquities in conflict zones, and I don’t think that makes them racist or anglo-centric either.
Now people can and do make arguments for preserving archaeological sites in poorer countries on the grounds of them being more vulnerable and less expensive to repair which is essentially a cost-effectiveness argument. No doubt they would agree with your suggestion to direct giving outward, but I don’t think that group overlaps with EAs at all. (And for those who think that rebuilding destroyed historical sites are a valid use of philanthropic funding there are also obvious arguments that people reasonably prefer to donate to things that they can see and that can be enjoyed by millions of people over, say, the restoration of the Bamiyan Buddhas in a remote area of a wartorn country since taken over by the entity which originally intentionally destroyed them. Nevertheless, there were serious discussions about restoring the Bamiyan Buddhas prior to the Taliban resurgence, but I don’t think EA had anything to do with any of the debate)