I never expected EA to get so much flak in this comment section.
Most comments read like a version of "Who do you think you are?". Apparently it is very bad to try to think rationally about how and where to give out your money
I mean if rich people want to give out their money for good and beyond are actually trying to do work of researching whether it has an impact instead of just enjoying the high-status feeling of the optics of giving to a good cause (see The Anonymous Donor episode of Curb your enthusiasm), what is it to you all ?
It feels to me like some parents wanting to plan the birth of their children and all the people around are like "Nooo, you have to let Nature decide, don't try to calculate where you are in your cycle !!! "
Apparently this is "authoritarian", "can be used to justify anything" like eugenics but also will end up "similar to communism" but also leads to "hyperindividualism ?
The only way I can explain it is no one wants to give out 1% of their money away and hate the people who make them feel guilty by doing so and saying it would be a good thing so everyone is lashing out
I think it's a case of judging a band by its fans. Enough dodgy billionaires have jumped on to create a poor image. Singer never said donating buys you a license to be evil.
I only know about SBF but SBF was a scammer. Are we surprised that scammers try to use anything that could give them a positive image in order to, you know, scam people ?
Also I don't see Elon Musk giving out his money to save non-white people's lives anytime soon
Yes it is bad. You start to think about who deserves your help.
I don't think much of Christians but I love the Salvation army. They patrol the streets picking up whoever they find and help them. Regardless of background, nationality, religion or IQ.
It goes against everything tech bros believe in.
No, the argument isn’t “help these people instead of helping those people”, it’s “help who you want to help, but make sure your money is actually spent helping rather than paying people to raise awareness”.
There are loads of charities that are basically scams that give very little to the cause they claim to support and reserve most of the money for the high salaries of their board members. The EA argument, at its core, is to do some research before you give and try to avoid these scams.
But it's not about who deserves your help, it's about where it would make the biggest difference
Don't you have other things to do than to give flak to people who helped a population at the other side of the globe not to die of malaria ?
In the meantime, Christians did not give us vaccines and antibiotics without which you might not even be alive today. Also charity has a bad track record of being more about making the donors feel superior/good about themselves than actually making a change. Maybe you'd like to read "Down and out in London and Paris".
Don't get me wrong, the Salvation Army is great and everyone who wishes to make a difference is welcome to do so.
I, myself, am not even donating to EA causes and what I have done is much closer to Salvation Army stuff (a hot soup and a place to rest) but I don't see how the Salvation Army can be weaponized by against EA, that's insane.
Most comments read like a version of "Who do you think you are?". Apparently it is very bad to try to think rationally about how and where to give out your money
I mean if rich people want to give out their money for good and beyond are actually trying to do work of researching whether it has an impact instead of just enjoying the high-status feeling of the optics of giving to a good cause (see The Anonymous Donor episode of Curb your enthusiasm), what is it to you all ?
It feels to me like some parents wanting to plan the birth of their children and all the people around are like "Nooo, you have to let Nature decide, don't try to calculate where you are in your cycle !!! "
Apparently this is "authoritarian", "can be used to justify anything" like eugenics but also will end up "similar to communism" but also leads to "hyperindividualism ?
The only way I can explain it is no one wants to give out 1% of their money away and hate the people who make them feel guilty by doing so and saying it would be a good thing so everyone is lashing out