Deciding in advance to boost a certain set of causes [what determines that set??], or a “portfolio approach” without justifying the portfolio-items
(Not totally sure what you mean here.) I think the portfolio items are justified on the basis of distinct worldviews, which differ in part based on their normative commitments (e.g. theories of welfare like hedonism or preference views, moral weights, axiology, decision theory, epistemic standards, non-consequentialist commitments) across which there is no uniquely justified universal common scale. People might be doing this pretty informally or deferring, though.
Intra-cause offsetting: if you do harm in area X, you should fix your harm in that area, even if you could do more good in another area
I think this can make sense if you have imprecise credences or normative uncertainty (for which there isn’t a uniquely justified universal common scale across views). Specifically, if you’re unable to decide whether action A does net good or net harm (in expectation), because it does good for cause X and harm for cause Y, and the two causes are too hard to compare, it might make sense to offset. Portfolios can be (more) robustly positive than the individual acts. EDIT: But maybe you find this too difference-making?
(Not totally sure what you mean here.) I think the portfolio items are justified on the basis of distinct worldviews, which differ in part based on their normative commitments (e.g. theories of welfare like hedonism or preference views, moral weights, axiology, decision theory, epistemic standards, non-consequentialist commitments) across which there is no uniquely justified universal common scale. People might be doing this pretty informally or deferring, though.
I think this can make sense if you have imprecise credences or normative uncertainty (for which there isn’t a uniquely justified universal common scale across views). Specifically, if you’re unable to decide whether action A does net good or net harm (in expectation), because it does good for cause X and harm for cause Y, and the two causes are too hard to compare, it might make sense to offset. Portfolios can be (more) robustly positive than the individual acts. EDIT: But maybe you find this too difference-making?