I’m not particularly well versed in the criticisms directed at the EA community, but it does seem like one factor is pushback around a lack of prioritization of social justice issues. These may not be as tractable as other cause areas because of the current political climate and the systemic changes needed to make a difference in the long term.
I’ve recently learned of The Solutionary Way by Zoe Weil, and I find the ideas compelling so far. Here is a definition of Solutionary from the Institute for Humane Education:
https://humaneeducation.org/what-is-a-solutionary-2/
“A solutionary is someone who identifies inhumane, unjust, and unsustainable societal systems and then develops solutions to transform them so that they do the most good and least harm for people, animals, and the environment.”
In general, the interplay between human, animal, and environmental issues have been neglected and I’m interpreting this intersection as an expansion of what social justice means. I’d love to see more representation in this area in the EA community. So, on to my questions. Could embracing and sharing ideas related to The Solutionary Way be beneficial for the EA movement and for community building? What discrepancies might there be between the approaches? Lastly, am I overlooking any initiatives or organizations that are involved in this area within the EA community directly?
Thank you for this post! I think it might be beneficial in some ways for the EA movement but a barrier in other ways. It is quite hard to find good evidence for cost-effectiveness of systemic changes, which makes it hard to look closer into. It is also hard to separate systemic change from politics, which can create tensions in a community.
Well… I am involved. I made some input to the UN together with Cool Earth, Equal Right and Robert Fletcher: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uAzSycfm190C1hnVDCnYTXK2d1tvw0WsbfE8RJYvw2U/edit?usp=drivesdk
I also made a forum post about a way forward that I think might work when it comes to systemic change and the EA community: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/tAF4zQSfDGpABLCaH/green-basic-income-and-health-taxes-as-a-way-for-systemic
Cool Earth is an organisation that was very popular in the EA movement for a while and I think they work with the topics you are looking for. I think GiveDirectly also is doing it. There are also some people doing it loosely. EA Germany has a Slack channel for systemic change.
I hope this helps! You are welcome to contact me if you want to discuss this further!
Kind regards, Ulf Graf
I’m already learning so much just from reading through some of what you shared. Thank you for replying!
I am very happy to hear that! You’re welcome! :)