I consider power-dynamics safeguards that make sure, for example, that anyone can quit their job and still have a place to stay—to be deontological. You won’t change my mind easily using a cost-benefit analysis, if the argument will be something like “for the greater good, it’s ok to make it very hard for some people to quit, because it will save EA money that can be used to save more lives”.
This is similar to how it would be hard to convince me that stealing is a good idea—even if we can use the money to buy bed nets.
I can elaborate if you don’t agree. (or maybe you totally agree and then there’s no need)
Also, I wouldn’t make one group out of all the “risk-averse bureaucracy”. Preventing the abuse of power dynamics is a specific instance that should get special treatment imo
There are millions of people around the world who live paycheck to paycheck, and run the risk of becoming homeless if they quit their jobs. We don’t have the resources to help all of those people, and I’m not immediately seeing how deontology helps us figure out how to allocate our limited resources between this and various other obligations we may have. [Edit: maybe this section was obtuse on my part—see Yonatan’s reply below.]
I think it is really valuable for people in EA to feel comfortable pushing back against their boss. (I see strong consequentialist arguments for this. Those arguments are why I will focus on people in EA, rather than non-EAs living paycheck to paycheck, for the rest of this comment.) I think there are ways to achieve this cost-effectively. For example:
When possible, have employee housing arrangements made directly with a landlord or similar person, rather than routing through someone they have a working relationship with.
Agree in advance that any employee who lives for free in employer-provided housing gets to continue living there for, say, 3 months if they quit/get fired.
Build things like Basefund to the point where no EA thinks it is very hard to quit their job. (For example, a hypothetical Basefund+ could guarantee that EA employees who quit/get fired always receive a generous severance package. This idea might seem costly at first, but because the money is going to an EA instead of a landlord, it is much more likely to e.g. be donated to an effective charity.)
Encourage EAs to live with non-EAs when all else is equal.
When I wrote about deontology, I didn’t mean “we must help all people who are stuck in their jobs”. I meant “we must not hire people who will be stuck in their job while arguing that it’s ok to do so for the greater good”
I consider power-dynamics safeguards that make sure, for example, that anyone can quit their job and still have a place to stay—to be deontological. You won’t change my mind easily using a cost-benefit analysis, if the argument will be something like “for the greater good, it’s ok to make it very hard for some people to quit, because it will save EA money that can be used to save more lives”.
This is similar to how it would be hard to convince me that stealing is a good idea—even if we can use the money to buy bed nets.
I can elaborate if you don’t agree. (or maybe you totally agree and then there’s no need)
Also, I wouldn’t make one group out of all the “risk-averse bureaucracy”. Preventing the abuse of power dynamics is a specific instance that should get special treatment imo
There are millions of people around the world who live paycheck to paycheck, and run the risk of becoming homeless if they quit their jobs. We don’t have the resources to help all of those people, and I’m not immediately seeing how deontology helps us figure out how to allocate our limited resources between this and various other obligations we may have. [Edit: maybe this section was obtuse on my part—see Yonatan’s reply below.]
I think it is really valuable for people in EA to feel comfortable pushing back against their boss. (I see strong consequentialist arguments for this. Those arguments are why I will focus on people in EA, rather than non-EAs living paycheck to paycheck, for the rest of this comment.) I think there are ways to achieve this cost-effectively. For example:
When possible, have employee housing arrangements made directly with a landlord or similar person, rather than routing through someone they have a working relationship with.
Agree in advance that any employee who lives for free in employer-provided housing gets to continue living there for, say, 3 months if they quit/get fired.
Build things like Basefund to the point where no EA thinks it is very hard to quit their job. (For example, a hypothetical Basefund+ could guarantee that EA employees who quit/get fired always receive a generous severance package. This idea might seem costly at first, but because the money is going to an EA instead of a landlord, it is much more likely to e.g. be donated to an effective charity.)
Encourage EAs to live with non-EAs when all else is equal.
(I mostly agree)
When I wrote about deontology, I didn’t mean “we must help all people who are stuck in their jobs”. I meant “we must not hire people who will be stuck in their job while arguing that it’s ok to do so for the greater good”