On the semantic/marketing question of who to describe as an “effective altruist”, I see no reason to require perfection or anything approaching it, or not count someone who donates 5% of their income to effective charities. (This isn’t saying that 5% should be the minimum threshold.)
You also raise the separate question of what we have moral reason to do as individuals. We do often have reason to devote more resources to helping others than we do, as doing so would be better. (Though many of us wouldn’t see it as a duty, or even class some level of giving as a duty and some as above and beyond the call of duty or ‘supererogatory’.) I do agree that marketability limits this, but it’s easy to overstate this, as the precise amount someone gives or works needn’t be that visible. However I think that sustainability often limits it even more than you mention; I don’t think that trying to expend the minimal amount of time/money that’ll keep you alive to work on non-EA activities is generally sustainable! Instead I’d suggest it’s best to set a fixed yearly ‘charity budget’ (for money and perhaps also time) and then cautiously see if you can (or can’t) slowly expand it each year.
On the semantic/marketing question of who to describe as an “effective altruist”, I see no reason to require perfection or anything approaching it, or not count someone who donates 5% of their income to effective charities. (This isn’t saying that 5% should be the minimum threshold.)
You also raise the separate question of what we have moral reason to do as individuals. We do often have reason to devote more resources to helping others than we do, as doing so would be better. (Though many of us wouldn’t see it as a duty, or even class some level of giving as a duty and some as above and beyond the call of duty or ‘supererogatory’.) I do agree that marketability limits this, but it’s easy to overstate this, as the precise amount someone gives or works needn’t be that visible. However I think that sustainability often limits it even more than you mention; I don’t think that trying to expend the minimal amount of time/money that’ll keep you alive to work on non-EA activities is generally sustainable! Instead I’d suggest it’s best to set a fixed yearly ‘charity budget’ (for money and perhaps also time) and then cautiously see if you can (or can’t) slowly expand it each year.