EA is still in a context where recruiting new people who are interested in the ideas is vastly more important to the cause than ensuring everyone thinks positively of it.
This is not consistent with my conversations with longtermists and my impressions speaking to funder(s) in longtermism.
From this, it seems that being seen as weird or negative would actively undermine foundational projects in longtermism today.
Sometimes I think people have a model of movement building that involves mass action, publicity and generally “punching out” (e.g. PETA, people physically fighting in the same two blocks in Portland for months).
I would want someone to have a way better model involving gears level work. I think this talent and insight is probably available today and someone write about it explicitly.
This is not consistent with my conversations with longtermists and my impressions speaking to funder(s) in longtermism.
From this, it seems that being seen as weird or negative would actively undermine foundational projects in longtermism today.
Sometimes I think people have a model of movement building that involves mass action, publicity and generally “punching out” (e.g. PETA, people physically fighting in the same two blocks in Portland for months).
I would want someone to have a way better model involving gears level work. I think this talent and insight is probably available today and someone write about it explicitly.