I like that you cited multiple sources with different perspectives on the world income distribution, rather than simply asserting a single number that someone could easily challenge. It’s important to recognize the uncertainty associated with data like this (though it’s also important, of course, to accept that any realistic numbers would still lead to the same basic point about how globally wealthy the average developed-world citizen is).
Regarding the video:
You’ve done a very good thing by making a generous donation to Fistula Foundation! My comments on the form/text of the video don’t take away from the fact that you’ve contributed to making a difference in the lives of suffering people.
In the past, many EA community groups ran Live Below the Line fundraisers, where members would live for a week using only a tiny amount of money (below the global extreme poverty line), subsisting on small amounts of basic food (but living in their usual homes/dorms/etc.). This seems similar to your campaign here.
In my experience, this led to some positive feedback, but also a lot of reasonable negative feedback. The latter came from people who pointed out that a short stint of temporary poverty was quite different from the lived experience of poverty, and that suggesting any sort of comparison between the experience of a hungry college student and someone living on $750/year wasn’t a good idea. I’m neutral on that question myself, but empirically, there are risks to any fundraiser that involves or even hints at this kind of comparison.
The quote “if you think this lifestyle is a little odd, you are out of touch with how most people in the world live” seems harsh, and fairly inaccurate; only a small fraction of the global population is “homeless”, and even the average poor person’s home still offers some shelter from the elements (very few people live completely exposed to nature).
Yo Aaron thank you so so much for taking the time to reply to me with all this info!!! Super helpful!!!
I didn’t know about Live Below the Line, that is great to know about. I’m going to look into what people have done with that before I attempt any other projects. Totally get the negative feedback around that idea, which is obviously related to my own take.
As for my quote “if you think this lifestyle is a little odd, you are out of touch with how most people in the world live”—I have to counter that I did have a tent and sleeping bag, thus was able to survive in below freezing temperatures. So I didn’t mean that I was homeless or without shelter. I meant just that I had the basics. (Even though of course, I had more than the basics since this was just for a week, I live in a wealthy area, etc, etc.) That line was also somewhat me addressing just about everybody who thought I was being really weird for even attempting this idea… really it is how most people live (in a very general sense), so it’s not THAT weird.
THANK YOU AGAIN. Any further thoughts def let me know. I suddenly love EA forum!!
I like that you cited multiple sources with different perspectives on the world income distribution, rather than simply asserting a single number that someone could easily challenge. It’s important to recognize the uncertainty associated with data like this (though it’s also important, of course, to accept that any realistic numbers would still lead to the same basic point about how globally wealthy the average developed-world citizen is).
Regarding the video:
You’ve done a very good thing by making a generous donation to Fistula Foundation! My comments on the form/text of the video don’t take away from the fact that you’ve contributed to making a difference in the lives of suffering people.
In the past, many EA community groups ran Live Below the Line fundraisers, where members would live for a week using only a tiny amount of money (below the global extreme poverty line), subsisting on small amounts of basic food (but living in their usual homes/dorms/etc.). This seems similar to your campaign here.
In my experience, this led to some positive feedback, but also a lot of reasonable negative feedback. The latter came from people who pointed out that a short stint of temporary poverty was quite different from the lived experience of poverty, and that suggesting any sort of comparison between the experience of a hungry college student and someone living on $750/year wasn’t a good idea. I’m neutral on that question myself, but empirically, there are risks to any fundraiser that involves or even hints at this kind of comparison.
The quote “if you think this lifestyle is a little odd, you are out of touch with how most people in the world live” seems harsh, and fairly inaccurate; only a small fraction of the global population is “homeless”, and even the average poor person’s home still offers some shelter from the elements (very few people live completely exposed to nature).
Yo Aaron thank you so so much for taking the time to reply to me with all this info!!! Super helpful!!!
I didn’t know about Live Below the Line, that is great to know about. I’m going to look into what people have done with that before I attempt any other projects. Totally get the negative feedback around that idea, which is obviously related to my own take.
As for my quote “if you think this lifestyle is a little odd, you are out of touch with how most people in the world live”—I have to counter that I did have a tent and sleeping bag, thus was able to survive in below freezing temperatures. So I didn’t mean that I was homeless or without shelter. I meant just that I had the basics. (Even though of course, I had more than the basics since this was just for a week, I live in a wealthy area, etc, etc.) That line was also somewhat me addressing just about everybody who thought I was being really weird for even attempting this idea… really it is how most people live (in a very general sense), so it’s not THAT weird.
THANK YOU AGAIN. Any further thoughts def let me know. I suddenly love EA forum!!