I think you’re underestimating the level of hostility most socialists and communists have towards philanthropy and EA in particular. In my experience (online only) EAs receive consistent, active and preemptive hostility from leftist groups, including vicious attacks on personality and character rather than mere disagreement about ends and means. It’s naive to think that small questions of framing would shift this relationship.
Of course it’s important to frame things in such a way that a sizeable minority of leftists go along with us, but that’s always going to be in opposition to concerted hostility from powerful people within the leftist ecosystem. And really this is more a matter of public-facing communication rather than stuff on this forum.
The goal for EA is not to engage against other ideologies
It’s a perfectly valid goal. If other ideologies are wrong (or, to put it in subjective terms, if they contradict our own values) then we ought to defeat them—if that is in fact possible and the most effective strategy in pragmatic terms. There’s nothing special about other people’s ideologies that renders them immune to criticism and change like anything else.
EA can be framework for figuring out strategic ways to fulfill your values
It might be useful to promote this to other people in some cases, but as a concept of EA this view is philosophically untenable. See: https://philpapers.org/rec/BEREAH-3
I think you’re underestimating the level of hostility most socialists and communists have towards philanthropy and EA in particular. In my experience (online only) EAs receive consistent, active and preemptive hostility from leftist groups, including vicious attacks on personality and character rather than mere disagreement about ends and means. It’s naive to think that small questions of framing would shift this relationship.
Of course it’s important to frame things in such a way that a sizeable minority of leftists go along with us, but that’s always going to be in opposition to concerted hostility from powerful people within the leftist ecosystem. And really this is more a matter of public-facing communication rather than stuff on this forum.
It’s a perfectly valid goal. If other ideologies are wrong (or, to put it in subjective terms, if they contradict our own values) then we ought to defeat them—if that is in fact possible and the most effective strategy in pragmatic terms. There’s nothing special about other people’s ideologies that renders them immune to criticism and change like anything else.
It might be useful to promote this to other people in some cases, but as a concept of EA this view is philosophically untenable. See: https://philpapers.org/rec/BEREAH-3