I’d like to steelman a slightly more nuanced criticism of Effective Altruism. It’s one that, as Effective Altruists, we might tend to dismiss (as do I), but non-EAs see it as a valid criticism, and that matters.
Despite efforts, many still see Effective Altruism as missing the underlying causes of major problems, like poverty. Because EA has tended to focus on what many call ‘working within the system’, a lot of people assume that is what EA explicitly promotes. If I thought there was a movement which said something like, ‘you can solve all the world’s problems by donating enough’, I might have reservations too. They worry that EA does not pay enough credence to the value of building community and social ties.
Of course, articles like this (https://80000hours.org/2015/07/effective-altruists-love-systemic-change/) have been written, but it seems this is still being overlooked. I’m not arguing we should necessarily spend more time trying to convince people that EAs love systemic change, but it’s important to recognise that many people have, what sounds to them, like totally rational criticisms.
I read through your article, but let me see if I can strengthen the claim that charities promoted by effective altruism do not actually make systematic change. Remember, effective altruists should care about the outcomes of their work, not the intentions. It does not matter if effective altruists love systematic change, if that change fails to occur, the actions they did are not in the spirit of effective altruism. Simply put, charities such as the Against Malaria Foundation harm economic growth, limit freedom, and instill dependency, all while attempting to stop a disease which kills about as many people every year as the flu. Here’s the full video
I’d like to steelman a slightly more nuanced criticism of Effective Altruism. It’s one that, as Effective Altruists, we might tend to dismiss (as do I), but non-EAs see it as a valid criticism, and that matters.
Despite efforts, many still see Effective Altruism as missing the underlying causes of major problems, like poverty. Because EA has tended to focus on what many call ‘working within the system’, a lot of people assume that is what EA explicitly promotes. If I thought there was a movement which said something like, ‘you can solve all the world’s problems by donating enough’, I might have reservations too. They worry that EA does not pay enough credence to the value of building community and social ties.
Of course, articles like this (https://80000hours.org/2015/07/effective-altruists-love-systemic-change/) have been written, but it seems this is still being overlooked. I’m not arguing we should necessarily spend more time trying to convince people that EAs love systemic change, but it’s important to recognise that many people have, what sounds to them, like totally rational criticisms.
Take this criticism (https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2015/07/why-peter-singer-is-wrong-about-effective-altruism/ - which I responded to here: https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2016/09/effective-altruism-changing-think-charity/). Even after addressing the author’s concerns about EA focusing entirely on donating, he still contacted me with concerns that EA is going to miss the unintended consequences of reducing community ties. I disagree with the claim, but this makes sense given his understanding of EA.
I read through your article, but let me see if I can strengthen the claim that charities promoted by effective altruism do not actually make systematic change. Remember, effective altruists should care about the outcomes of their work, not the intentions. It does not matter if effective altruists love systematic change, if that change fails to occur, the actions they did are not in the spirit of effective altruism. Simply put, charities such as the Against Malaria Foundation harm economic growth, limit freedom, and instill dependency, all while attempting to stop a disease which kills about as many people every year as the flu. Here’s the full video