I don’t have anything smart or worthwhile to comment, but I want to say that I am glad you wrote this.
I’m quite uncomfortable with the idea that the best use of money is to give it to inexperienced young people from wealthy families who went to expensive schools. Helping privileged people get access to more privileged doesn’t rank high on my personal list of cause areas, and I’m glad that someone is speaking out against this trend.
I’m uncomfortable with this too, but more comfortable than I used to be.
Privileged people have a lot of power/leverage in the world. That leverage can be squandered, used for selfish means, or used for good.
If we think EAs have uniquely good ideas for identifying and solving neglected, pressing global problems, I want people with lots of leverage to learn from EA. The counterfactual is they use their leverage to do less altruistic or less effective things. I am willing to put money toward avoiding that.
I don’t have anything smart or worthwhile to comment, but I want to say that I am glad you wrote this.
I’m quite uncomfortable with the idea that the best use of money is to give it to inexperienced young people from wealthy families who went to expensive schools. Helping privileged people get access to more privileged doesn’t rank high on my personal list of cause areas, and I’m glad that someone is speaking out against this trend.
I’m uncomfortable with this too, but more comfortable than I used to be.
Privileged people have a lot of power/leverage in the world. That leverage can be squandered, used for selfish means, or used for good.
If we think EAs have uniquely good ideas for identifying and solving neglected, pressing global problems, I want people with lots of leverage to learn from EA. The counterfactual is they use their leverage to do less altruistic or less effective things. I am willing to put money toward avoiding that.