Thanks, Evan. I did see that article, but I think its thesis makes more sense in theory than in practice. The reality is that people coming into these spaces from the outside will think of “effective altruists” as an identity whether we/you want them to or not, because that’s a frame that is familiar to them from other contexts. Communities are sometimes defined as much by people outside of them as by people on the inside.
I think there are also unconsidered benefits of community solidarity as well. Community solidarity and identification might not absolutely hold up as net positive when its negative impacts are also counted. Yet if communities like EA will be pigeonholed and defined as an identity by outsiders anyway, we might as well steer into the skid and realize the benefits of a common identity.
Thanks, Evan. I did see that article, but I think its thesis makes more sense in theory than in practice. The reality is that people coming into these spaces from the outside will think of “effective altruists” as an identity whether we/you want them to or not, because that’s a frame that is familiar to them from other contexts. Communities are sometimes defined as much by people outside of them as by people on the inside.
I think there are also unconsidered benefits of community solidarity as well. Community solidarity and identification might not absolutely hold up as net positive when its negative impacts are also counted. Yet if communities like EA will be pigeonholed and defined as an identity by outsiders anyway, we might as well steer into the skid and realize the benefits of a common identity.