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The controversial assumption I'm referring to is that all charitable giving prior to EA was wrong-headed and that the way in which everyone else prioritizes the

The controversial assumption I'm referring to is that all charitable giving prior to EA was wrong-headed and that the way in which everyone else prioritizes their giving is wrong in prioritizing by both need and connection. EA isn't just saying that you need to prioritize based on measurable outcomes, but that you should take no consideration of your own position in society when choosing to give. Don't pay back to the community that fostered your success, others are more in need. And I say this is controversial because it goes directly against almost all previous examples of altruism.

yboris 4y ago
I think you have a very uncharitable interpretation of what the EA community is doing. Or perhaps you met some very narrow-headed EA people. When I joined I was in my college years over a decade ago and was not as good at communicating, and was not as familiar with life outside of college, I certainly may have given bad impressions to some people I spoke with in the past. I think a mature individual that is part of EA would say something like: Of course we don't expect everyone to instantly stop everything they are doing to pursue EA goals; we are just pointing out that if your goals are to make a great impact in this world, you have to have some hard reflections on your actions, since there are some amazing ways to help individuals that look different than what you initially may have had in mind. We can't expect you to join Giving What We Can right away and start giving 10% of your income, but perhaps we can encourage you to consider whether you can make giving a larger part of your life, and that in time, you might consider giving to more cost-effective charities / organizations than you have in the past. And none of this is to imply that what you had been doing is bad, or that continuing to give to a local community is wrong. We are just here, with open arms, happy to have a conversation about helping as many individuals as possible, whatever your (psychological, financial, etc) constraints are. ps - I honestly would be happy to chat :)

yboris 4y ago

I think you have a very uncharitable interpretation of what the EA community is doing. Or perhaps you met some very narrow-headed EA people. When I joined I was in my college years over a decade ago and was not as good at communicating, and was not as familiar with life outside of college, I certainly may have given bad impressions to some people I spoke with in the past. I think a mature individual that is part of EA would say something like: Of course we don't expect everyone to instantly stop everything they are doing to pursue EA goals; we are just pointing out that if your goals are to make a great impact in this world, you have to have some hard reflections on your actions, since there are some amazing ways to help individuals that look different than what you initially may have had in mind. We can't expect you to join Giving What We Can right away and start giving 10% of your income, but perhaps we can encourage you to consider whether you can make giving a larger part of your life, and that in time, you might consider giving to more cost-effective charities / organizations than you have in the past. And none of this is to imply that what you had been doing is bad, or that continuing to give to a local community is wrong. We are just here, with open arms, happy to have a conversation about helping as many individuals as possible, whatever your (psychological, financial, etc) constraints are. ps - I honestly would be happy to chat :)