OP and most current EA community work takes a “Narrow EA” approach. The theory of change is that OP and EA leaders have neglected ideas and need to recruit elites to enact these ideas. Buying castles and funding expensive recruitment funnels is consistent with this strategy.
I am talking about something closer to a big tent EA approach. One vision could be to help small and medium donors in rich countries spend more money more effectively on philanthropy, with a distinctive emphasis on cause neutrality and cause prioritization. This can and probably should be started in a grassroots fashion with little money. Spending millions on fancy conferences and paying undergraduate community builders might be counter to the spirit and goals of this approach.
A fee-paying society is a natural fit for big tent EA and not for narrow EA.
I didn’t know that the huge amounts of power held by OP was my main point! I was trying to use that to explain why EA community members were so invested in the castle. I’m not sure I succeeded, especially since I agree with @Elizabeth’s points that no one needs to wait for permission from OP or anyone else to pursue what they think is right, and the EA community cannot direct OP’s donations.
I personally would love to see a big-tent organization like the one you describe! I think it less-than-likely that the existence of such an organization would have made most of the people who were “so invested in the castle” significantly less so. But there’s no way to test that. I agree that a big-tent organization would bring in other people—not currently involved in EA—who would be unlikely to care much about the castle.
OP and most current EA community work takes a “Narrow EA” approach. The theory of change is that OP and EA leaders have neglected ideas and need to recruit elites to enact these ideas. Buying castles and funding expensive recruitment funnels is consistent with this strategy.
I am talking about something closer to a big tent EA approach. One vision could be to help small and medium donors in rich countries spend more money more effectively on philanthropy, with a distinctive emphasis on cause neutrality and cause prioritization. This can and probably should be started in a grassroots fashion with little money. Spending millions on fancy conferences and paying undergraduate community builders might be counter to the spirit and goals of this approach.
A fee-paying society is a natural fit for big tent EA and not for narrow EA.
I didn’t know that the huge amounts of power held by OP was my main point! I was trying to use that to explain why EA community members were so invested in the castle. I’m not sure I succeeded, especially since I agree with @Elizabeth’s points that no one needs to wait for permission from OP or anyone else to pursue what they think is right, and the EA community cannot direct OP’s donations.
I personally would love to see a big-tent organization like the one you describe! I think it less-than-likely that the existence of such an organization would have made most of the people who were “so invested in the castle” significantly less so. But there’s no way to test that. I agree that a big-tent organization would bring in other people—not currently involved in EA—who would be unlikely to care much about the castle.