Hi—thanks for engaging so thoroughly with the post, and for caring about our shared interest in diversity and inclusion within EA.
I have mixed-feelings concerning your post.
lol same.
2.
yours go into the ‘Let’s narrow EA because diversity is overrated’
I do want to point out that I don’t think I stated my own position on this topic anywhere. A reason for the post generally focusing more on the global approach to EA community building is because the status quo is to accept that narrowly focused community building (at top universities, and rich/influential cities like London and SFO) is valuable, and I think the case for global community building hasn’t been made as explicitly as the case for community building at top universities has been, for example.
3.
It is well-known mechanism for people previously on the margins who have succeeded into prestigious, privileged places to be against diversity. I think about Priti Patel or Rishi Sunak ; take me in, but don’t let anyone enter after me
Trying to charitably restate what I think you meant in point 1: In my post I express some doubt about my own value or belonging in the US EA community, and you’ve combined that with the aforementioned perception that I am against diversity and inclusion (because you think I support the ‘narrow’ version of community building) and suggested that this might be an example of the ‘pulling the ladder up from behind me’ phenomenon, which might generally be seen as part of many factors which affect underrepresentation in hierarchies.
How I can’t help but reading your point 1: you don’t know anything about me, or any of the work I have/haven’t done to try help ‘promote’ other EA’s from underrepresented groups over the past 5 years, but you’ve decided to try psychoanalyse me and then evoke the metaphor of me deliberately preventing others from succeeding. Whether or not this was your intention, I think other people have also interpreted your point in this way (an odhominem attack), which might explain the downvoting.
4.
I do think that fellow South Africans or people coming from low-income countries can bring insights EAs in wealthy countries can’t. Thats the reason why the UN recruits people from these countries instead of giving the job to a white, wealthy candidate from a first world country who just got their masters in development
I think this point is pointing to a point which I have maybe under-explained or poorly articulated. You are correct in the example you’re pointing out—those people would bring valuable skills and insights into UN in the context of working on local development projects. But I don’t think EA is like the UN in this case, I think EA could be explained (from a narrow EA point of view) as a movement of exceptionally wealthy and privileged people, for exceptionally wealthy and privileged people, to try and do the most good that they can. In this case, even though people from all over the world might bring unique and underrepresented perspectives to the table, the question is “how are these perspectives/experiences going to help with this specific project (of EA)?”. Specifically in the context of EA community building, if one thinks that the purpose of community building is to attract/retain/find/train the most wealthy and influential people in the world in order to solve the most pressing issues facing current and future generations, then I don’t find it convincing that we should be prioritising the ‘global EA’ model that I described in the post. That’s mainly the point I’d like decision makers in the community building space to address/clarify.
5.
This kind of argument is a pushback from a group of people who do not like to share resources, power and influence
I think you might just have a fundamental disagreement with people who think about justice and/or EA in a utilitarian way? If, from my perspective, EA is movement predicated on the acceptance that we have far too few resources to solve the worlds problems, and that we should try and allocate the resources we do have such that we produce the best outcomes for as many people (or to the highest degree) possible; then I don’t think that taking our resources and sharing them equally amongst everyone who wants some of them is the morally right thing to do, because I don’t think theres a reasonable argument for that likely producing the best outcomes.
Hi—thanks for engaging so thoroughly with the post, and for caring about our shared interest in diversity and inclusion within EA.
lol same.
2.
I do want to point out that I don’t think I stated my own position on this topic anywhere. A reason for the post generally focusing more on the global approach to EA community building is because the status quo is to accept that narrowly focused community building (at top universities, and rich/influential cities like London and SFO) is valuable, and I think the case for global community building hasn’t been made as explicitly as the case for community building at top universities has been, for example.
3.
Trying to charitably restate what I think you meant in point 1: In my post I express some doubt about my own value or belonging in the US EA community, and you’ve combined that with the aforementioned perception that I am against diversity and inclusion (because you think I support the ‘narrow’ version of community building) and suggested that this might be an example of the ‘pulling the ladder up from behind me’ phenomenon, which might generally be seen as part of many factors which affect underrepresentation in hierarchies.
How I can’t help but reading your point 1: you don’t know anything about me, or any of the work I have/haven’t done to try help ‘promote’ other EA’s from underrepresented groups over the past 5 years, but you’ve decided to try psychoanalyse me and then evoke the metaphor of me deliberately preventing others from succeeding. Whether or not this was your intention, I think other people have also interpreted your point in this way (an odhominem attack), which might explain the downvoting.
4.
I think this point is pointing to a point which I have maybe under-explained or poorly articulated. You are correct in the example you’re pointing out—those people would bring valuable skills and insights into UN in the context of working on local development projects. But I don’t think EA is like the UN in this case, I think EA could be explained (from a narrow EA point of view) as a movement of exceptionally wealthy and privileged people, for exceptionally wealthy and privileged people, to try and do the most good that they can. In this case, even though people from all over the world might bring unique and underrepresented perspectives to the table, the question is “how are these perspectives/experiences going to help with this specific project (of EA)?”. Specifically in the context of EA community building, if one thinks that the purpose of community building is to attract/retain/find/train the most wealthy and influential people in the world in order to solve the most pressing issues facing current and future generations, then I don’t find it convincing that we should be prioritising the ‘global EA’ model that I described in the post. That’s mainly the point I’d like decision makers in the community building space to address/clarify.
5.
I think you might just have a fundamental disagreement with people who think about justice and/or EA in a utilitarian way? If, from my perspective, EA is movement predicated on the acceptance that we have far too few resources to solve the worlds problems, and that we should try and allocate the resources we do have such that we produce the best outcomes for as many people (or to the highest degree) possible; then I don’t think that taking our resources and sharing them equally amongst everyone who wants some of them is the morally right thing to do, because I don’t think theres a reasonable argument for that likely producing the best outcomes.