I think this highlights the issues with the nomenclature of effective altruism. I find the question “do you identify as an effective altruist” to be akin to “do you identify as a good person.” No matter how much I donate to EA causes or how much good I do with my career, I would not answer yes because it comes off to me as a bit presumptuous and arrogant, and it insinuates that people outside this community are not as effective and altruistic. To be clear, I think the community as a whole does a ton of good and I’m grateful it exists—my concern (which I know others have raised as well) is only with the title.
I agree that looking at more concrete metrics of contribution (e.g. percentage of income donated) might be more informative.
Thanks for taking the time to look into this.
I think this highlights the issues with the nomenclature of effective altruism. I find the question “do you identify as an effective altruist” to be akin to “do you identify as a good person.” No matter how much I donate to EA causes or how much good I do with my career, I would not answer yes because it comes off to me as a bit presumptuous and arrogant, and it insinuates that people outside this community are not as effective and altruistic. To be clear, I think the community as a whole does a ton of good and I’m grateful it exists—my concern (which I know others have raised as well) is only with the title.
I agree that looking at more concrete metrics of contribution (e.g. percentage of income donated) might be more informative.