This is a courageous post, and I commend you for it. I aspire to the level of open reflection and dispassionate analysis you’ve displayed here.
I’m fairly new on the forum, and am trying to decide if I should go all-in on EA or remain on the outside looking in. This vignette resonated with me:
As one MP put it: “I have to show my party how this will benefit our country”.
I’m a (small-r) republican and an ardent believer in my country’s social contract. I find myself agreeing with the MP—there’s usually an expectation that good stewardship of taxpayer money means using it in a way that primarily benefits citizens and/or the national interest. Despite my EA interest, I’m a tad uncomfortable advocating for public funds to be diverted in a way that provides no tangible benefits to the society providing it (unless there’s an explicit democratic mandate to do so).
That’s why I love the idea of earn to give and other forms of private EA money, even though I’m aware that 1% of a Western country’s budget earmarked for foreign aid is likely substantially more money than all but the richest donors can chip in.
I’m curious about what your next steps are, and I wish you all the best.
My view on this: I think governments do foreign aid for a variety of reasons, some are selfish (like providing contracts for domestic companies), some are more altruistic (though a more developed Africa benefits us all through better market access and more efficient use of resources, as well as fewer global health crises and political crises to deal with).
And a different way of looking at it: Some amount of foreign aid is going to be directed towards altruistic goals. Anyone should want that money to be used as effectively as possible.
This is a courageous post, and I commend you for it. I aspire to the level of open reflection and dispassionate analysis you’ve displayed here.
I’m fairly new on the forum, and am trying to decide if I should go all-in on EA or remain on the outside looking in. This vignette resonated with me:
As one MP put it: “I have to show my party how this will benefit our country”.
I’m a (small-r) republican and an ardent believer in my country’s social contract. I find myself agreeing with the MP—there’s usually an expectation that good stewardship of taxpayer money means using it in a way that primarily benefits citizens and/or the national interest. Despite my EA interest, I’m a tad uncomfortable advocating for public funds to be diverted in a way that provides no tangible benefits to the society providing it (unless there’s an explicit democratic mandate to do so).
That’s why I love the idea of earn to give and other forms of private EA money, even though I’m aware that 1% of a Western country’s budget earmarked for foreign aid is likely substantially more money than all but the richest donors can chip in.
I’m curious about what your next steps are, and I wish you all the best.
My view on this: I think governments do foreign aid for a variety of reasons, some are selfish (like providing contracts for domestic companies), some are more altruistic (though a more developed Africa benefits us all through better market access and more efficient use of resources, as well as fewer global health crises and political crises to deal with).
And a different way of looking at it: Some amount of foreign aid is going to be directed towards altruistic goals. Anyone should want that money to be used as effectively as possible.