We could definitely do well to include more people in the movement. For what it’s worth, though, EA’s core cause areas could be considered among the most important and neglected social justice issues. The global poor, non-human animals, and future generations are all spectacularly neglected by mainstream society, but we (among others) have opted to help them.
Bryan Caplan: Oh yeah. I remember what I really wanted to say about EA, which is I’ve got a slogan. My slogan is “EA is what SJ ought to be.” So it’s the contrast between two groups: both very idealistic, both want to make the world a better place. But again, the way you make the world a better place is by, step one, calming down, realizing that you don’t know that much about the world, and then trying to figure it out. And along the way, be nice to other people, because maybe they have something to teach you. Even if a lot of what they have to say is wrong, just getting that kind of feedback is very helpful for learning more. You don’t want to alienate critics, because without critics, you’re just stuck in your own echo chamber.
Bryan Caplan: Social justice movements are really weak on all those things. You got the intentions, but in terms of having the right mindset for actually making the world a better place, SJ has the right mindset for fanatically making the world worse.
We could definitely do well to include more people in the movement. For what it’s worth, though, EA’s core cause areas could be considered among the most important and neglected social justice issues. The global poor, non-human animals, and future generations are all spectacularly neglected by mainstream society, but we (among others) have opted to help them.
You might be interested in the following essays:
EA and tackling racism
Is Charity About Helping the Poorest?
Ajeya Cotra’s intro to EA talk starting at 25:45, where she talks about expanding the moral circle to include all humans, all sentient beings, and future generations
Bryan Caplan makes a related remark in Rob Wiblin’s interview with him:
I thought this paper on the ‘The Aptness of Anger ’ was good pushback on that point.
I also thought this podcast on how racism can distract from bigger problems (like climate) was insightful on this point (related Op-ed).