Fellow traveller and student of the effective altruism movement.
I have some background in (moral and political) philosophy and sociology
Maxim Vandaele
Karma: 177
This is a fantastic idea! It’s very unfortunate to see the reaction in the comments is so negative and skeptical—though many of those who agree with you may have simply not bothered to comment.
I can actually imagine this cause area gaining broader approval in the effective altruism movement, if only influential effective altruists brought up the topic. I find it somewhat surprising to see that other progressive political change (prison reform, immigration reform, animal advocacy in politics) is somewhat broadly supported in the effective altruism movement, but workplace democracy seemingly isn’t (yet!). It does seem like the effective altruism movement will have to become more democratic before we may see that happen. Let’s hope that this situation will one day change.
[Question] How could effective altruists help improve working conditions in low-income countries?
When I recently discussed effective altruism with fellow students, I heard similar objections. “Isn’t effective altruism empty?”, they asked. I definitely get them: just like deBoer argues, “everyone who has ever wanted to do good has wanted to do good well”.
The consensus-approved definition of effective altruism as “using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible, and taking action on that basis” may have its merits in introducing effective altruism to those who are new to it. But it may, as it did to my fellow students, also sound meaningless. They wonder: what does effective altruism even do that others don’t do (or do less of)?
Perhaps we need a new definition of effective altruism, one that better emphasizes what distinguishes effective altruism from other social and intellectual movements. What is particularly distinctive about effective altruism for example, is perhaps not just its exceptional commitment to evidence-based interventions to increase wellbeing, but, even more so, its willingness to consider alternative goals and alternative courses of actions. So perhaps effective altruists need to bring out this aspect of effective altruism more whenever they are introducing effective altruism to those who are new to it.
Hello, thank you for clarifying. I didn’t know that the fundraising process is coordinated in this sort of way. I get the impression that many introductory materials on effective altruism don’t really explain this too well, leading to the sort of misconception I may have had when I wrote my question.
Hello Sanjay, thank you for your response. I understand that improving working conditions in low-income countries is much harder to achieve than reducing extreme poverty, but that on its own doesn’t imply that there are no effective relevant interventions possible whatsoever. I can definitely believe that more research would be needed to understand which interventions (if any) could be effective in improving working conditions in poor countries. Indeed, one big reason I made this post is to ask whether anyone on this forum is aware of relevant research or debates.
I agree with your suggestion that unconditional cash transfers have some chance of indirectly contributing to better working conditions, because one is more likely to unionize and protest for workers’ rights when one has one’s basic needs met. However, I still wonder if, other than that, there really are no other effective interventions to improve labor conditions in poor countries. That may be the case, but I am not aware of any research that conclusively demonstrates this.