My understanding of how EA typically responds to anti-capitalist critiques of EA:
EAs are very split on capitalism, but a significant minority aren’t fans of it, and the majority think (very) significant reforms/regulations of the free market in some form(s) are justified.
The biggest difference on economics between EA and left-wing political movements is EA sees the market liberalization worldwide as a or the main source of increasing quality of life and material standard of living, and an unprecedented decrease in absolute global poverty in human history, in the last several decades. So EAs are likelier to have confidence in free(r) market principles as fundamentally good than most other left-leaning crowds.
Lots of EAs see their participation in EA as the most good they can do with their private/personal efforts, and often they’re quite active in politics, often left-wing politics, as part of the good they do as their public/political efforts. So, while effective giving/altruism is the most good one can do with some resources, like one’s money, other resources, like one’s time, can be put towards efforts aimed at systemic change. Whenever I’ve seen this pointed out, the distinction has mysteriously always been lost on anti-capitalist critics of EA. If there is a more important and different point they’re trying to make, I’m missing it.
A lot of EAs make the case that the kind of systemic change they are pursuing is what they think is best. This includes typical EA efforts, like donating to Givewell-recommended charities. The argument is these interventions are based on robust empirical evidence, and are demonstrably so cost-effective, such that they improve the well-being of people in undeveloped or developing countries, and their subsequent ability to autonomously pursue systemic change in their own societies. There are also a lot of EAs focused on farm animal welfare they believe is the most radically important form of systemic change they can focus on. As far as I’m aware, there are no existing significant or prominent public responses to these arguments from a left-wing perspective. Any such sources would be appreciated.
A lot of anti-capitalist criticism of EA is how it approaches the eradication of extreme global poverty. In addition to not addressing EA’s arguments for how their current efforts are aiming at affecting systemic change in the world’s poorer/poorest countries, anti-capitalist critics haven’t offered up much in the way of concrete, fleshed-out, evidence-based approaches to systemic change that would motivate EA to adopt them.
Anti-capitalist critics are much likelier than EA to see the redistribution of accumulated wealth through private philanthropy as having been accumulated unjustly and/or through exploitative means. Further, they’re likelier to see relative wealth inequality within a society as a fundamentally more important problem, and thus see directly redressing it fundamentally higher priority, than most of the EA community. Because of these different background assumptions, they’re likelier to perceive EA’s typical approaches to doing the most good as insufficiently supportive of democracy and egalitarianism. As a social movement, EA is much more like a voluntary community of people who contribute resources privately available to them, than it is a collective political effort. A lot of EAs are active in political activity aimed at systemic change, publicly do so as part and parcel with their EA motivations, and are not only willing but actively encourage public organization and coordination of these efforts among EAs and other advocates/activists. That anti-capitalist critics haven’t responded to these points seems to hinge on how they haven’t validated the distinction between use of personal/private resources, and public/political resources.
There isn’t much more EA can do to respond to anti-capitalist critics until anti-capitalist critics broach these subjects. The ball is in their court.
My understanding of how EA typically responds to anti-capitalist critiques of EA:
EAs are very split on capitalism, but a significant minority aren’t fans of it, and the majority think (very) significant reforms/regulations of the free market in some form(s) are justified.
The biggest difference on economics between EA and left-wing political movements is EA sees the market liberalization worldwide as a or the main source of increasing quality of life and material standard of living, and an unprecedented decrease in absolute global poverty in human history, in the last several decades. So EAs are likelier to have confidence in free(r) market principles as fundamentally good than most other left-leaning crowds.
Lots of EAs see their participation in EA as the most good they can do with their private/personal efforts, and often they’re quite active in politics, often left-wing politics, as part of the good they do as their public/political efforts. So, while effective giving/altruism is the most good one can do with some resources, like one’s money, other resources, like one’s time, can be put towards efforts aimed at systemic change. Whenever I’ve seen this pointed out, the distinction has mysteriously always been lost on anti-capitalist critics of EA. If there is a more important and different point they’re trying to make, I’m missing it.
A lot of EAs make the case that the kind of systemic change they are pursuing is what they think is best. This includes typical EA efforts, like donating to Givewell-recommended charities. The argument is these interventions are based on robust empirical evidence, and are demonstrably so cost-effective, such that they improve the well-being of people in undeveloped or developing countries, and their subsequent ability to autonomously pursue systemic change in their own societies. There are also a lot of EAs focused on farm animal welfare they believe is the most radically important form of systemic change they can focus on. As far as I’m aware, there are no existing significant or prominent public responses to these arguments from a left-wing perspective. Any such sources would be appreciated.
A lot of anti-capitalist criticism of EA is how it approaches the eradication of extreme global poverty. In addition to not addressing EA’s arguments for how their current efforts are aiming at affecting systemic change in the world’s poorer/poorest countries, anti-capitalist critics haven’t offered up much in the way of concrete, fleshed-out, evidence-based approaches to systemic change that would motivate EA to adopt them.
Anti-capitalist critics are much likelier than EA to see the redistribution of accumulated wealth through private philanthropy as having been accumulated unjustly and/or through exploitative means. Further, they’re likelier to see relative wealth inequality within a society as a fundamentally more important problem, and thus see directly redressing it fundamentally higher priority, than most of the EA community. Because of these different background assumptions, they’re likelier to perceive EA’s typical approaches to doing the most good as insufficiently supportive of democracy and egalitarianism. As a social movement, EA is much more like a voluntary community of people who contribute resources privately available to them, than it is a collective political effort. A lot of EAs are active in political activity aimed at systemic change, publicly do so as part and parcel with their EA motivations, and are not only willing but actively encourage public organization and coordination of these efforts among EAs and other advocates/activists. That anti-capitalist critics haven’t responded to these points seems to hinge on how they haven’t validated the distinction between use of personal/private resources, and public/political resources.
There isn’t much more EA can do to respond to anti-capitalist critics until anti-capitalist critics broach these subjects. The ball is in their court.