For me, one thing that is different about my perspective is I think the things that would need to change about EA that would make it tend to grow more are things that would make it more effective. I think I’m more willing to believe than other community members that EA as is isn’t nearly as effective as it could be, and this is part of the reason why EA seems saturated. It’s only saturated in its current form.
For example, I think it is possible to make the EA community both much more effective and much bigger while retaining its fidelity for each of its current goals, and I also think it would make things better and not worse for each cause. I think there is a fear that introducing new causes into EA is going to fracture the attention, and so whatever specific cause people are focused on, which they consider the most important problem in the world, will receive proportionally less attention from new people introduced into EA. However, I haven’t seen evidence this is the default growth model EA actually follows. It also doesn’t take into account the following:
Focusing on new, different causes will introduce new people into EA who are already put off of EA by its lack of focus on causes they consider fit for EA, like climate change. So, it only grows EA, and attention to EA as a whole, to introduce new causes, as opposed to steering away resources from cause areas with a pre-existing presence in EA.
EA as a whole has not previously employed growth strategies for the movement’s overall goals.
Sub-communities in EA can capitalize on growth in EA for themselves, and have also not previously employed optimal growth strategies for their goals.
In general, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a lot of deficiencies in how we have thought and still think about movement growth, and community-building and consciousness-raising for various goals in EA.
For me, one thing that is different about my perspective is I think the things that would need to change about EA that would make it tend to grow more are things that would make it more effective. I think I’m more willing to believe than other community members that EA as is isn’t nearly as effective as it could be, and this is part of the reason why EA seems saturated. It’s only saturated in its current form.
For example, I think it is possible to make the EA community both much more effective and much bigger while retaining its fidelity for each of its current goals, and I also think it would make things better and not worse for each cause. I think there is a fear that introducing new causes into EA is going to fracture the attention, and so whatever specific cause people are focused on, which they consider the most important problem in the world, will receive proportionally less attention from new people introduced into EA. However, I haven’t seen evidence this is the default growth model EA actually follows. It also doesn’t take into account the following:
Focusing on new, different causes will introduce new people into EA who are already put off of EA by its lack of focus on causes they consider fit for EA, like climate change. So, it only grows EA, and attention to EA as a whole, to introduce new causes, as opposed to steering away resources from cause areas with a pre-existing presence in EA.
EA as a whole has not previously employed growth strategies for the movement’s overall goals.
Sub-communities in EA can capitalize on growth in EA for themselves, and have also not previously employed optimal growth strategies for their goals.
In general, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a lot of deficiencies in how we have thought and still think about movement growth, and community-building and consciousness-raising for various goals in EA.