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Defining effective altruism -

Effective altruism, sometimes referred to as EA, is a philosophical and social movement that focuses on how to maximize the impact of charitable giving.

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History -

What began as a small movement at the University of Oxford in the 2000s has since grown into a global movement that has raised several billion dollars.

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Effective altruists -

People who subscribe to the theory of effective altruism, often referred to as effective altruists, decide where to donate their money based on where it will have the biggest impact.

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Critical of certain charities -

They are often critical of big charities that don’t have a significant impact on problems. Instead, they seek “to do good in the most clear-sighted, ambitious, and unsentimental way possible," according to an article in The New Yorker.

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Effective altruists and their careers -

Effective altruists may even choose their career path based on the amount of good they perceive they can bring to the world.

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Billionaire-backing -

Effective altruism is backed by a number of billionaires, including Elon Musk, and its prominent philosophers include Peter Singer, Toby Ord, and William MacAskill.

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The theory -

Let’s take a look at the main components of effective altruism theory. The first pillar of the theory is impartiality, the idea that everyone’s well-being is equally important.

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Impartiality -

The movement is somewhat divided on the question as to which beings are worthy of moral consideration. For example, not all effective altruists consider non-human animals as well as humans.

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Longtermism -

There are also effective altruists who subscribe to a particular theory called longtermism, which includes future generations in the moral consideration.

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Longtermists -

Longtermists tend to focus their efforts on improving the long-term future, such as by reducing existential risks, rather than improving the present.

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Cause prioritization -

Another key component of effective altruism is cause prioritization. This hinges on the concept of cause neutrality, the idea that resources should be directed to wherever they will do the most good.

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Cause neutrality -

Cause neutrality ignores the identity of the beneficiary, as well as the way in which the beneficiary is to be helped.

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Cause prioritization in practice -

When working out which causes to prioritize, effective altruists often use data analysis. They compare possible causes and outcomes, and identify uncertainty.

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Dedicated organizations -

These data analysis tasks are often complex, and nowadays there are a number of organizations that specialize in researching cause prioritization.

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Cost-effectiveness -

The third pillar of effective altruism theory is cost-effectiveness. Some charities are far more efficient than others, since they achieve the same goal for less.

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Cost-effective in expectation -

Effective altruists focus on charitable interventions that are highly cost-effective in expectation (although they do concede that in many cases the benefits are uncertain).

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Counterfactual reasoning -

The fourth and final pillar of the theory is counterfactual reasoning. This involves considering the various possible outcomes of alternative choices.

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Counterfactual reasoning in practice -

Effective altruists employ counterfactual reasoning in a number of contexts, including when it comes to choosing a career.

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Focus areas -

A key focus of the effective altruism movement is global health and development. Since the early days of the movement a number of organizations have focused on the alleviation of poverty and neglected tropical diseases.

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Global health and development -

In 2007, the charity evaluator GiveWell was founded with the aim of providing recommendations for where donations will be the most impactful.

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Animal welfare -

Animal welfare is another key focus area for many effective altruists, and there are many non-profit organizations that adopt an effective altruist approach towards animal welfare.

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Animal welfare -

The Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE), for example, evaluate animal charities in terms of their cost-effectiveness and transparency.

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Longtermism -

As previously discussed, there are also effective altruists who focus their efforts on improving the long-term future.

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Longtermism -

Research in this area looks at how we can address existential risks, such as dangers associated with biotechnology and advanced artificial intelligence.

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Criticisms -

There are a number of key criticisms leveled against effective altruism. The most prominent of those criticisms involves longtermists.

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Criticizing longtermism -

Critics of longtermism argue that it is fundamentally unethical to divert resources away from people suffering in the present in order to alleviate hypothetical problems in an uncertain future.

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Lack of diversity -

The movement has also been criticized for a lack of diversity. Indeed, Nitasha Tiku of The Washington Post once referred to the movement as a "community of roughly 7,000 adherents—largely young, White men connected to elite schools in the United States and Britain.”

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Lack of diversity -

Critics argue that a small group of predominantly White males should not get to decide where resources are directed without consulting other, less-represented groups.

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Hostile attitude towards women -

Finally, it has also been argued that there is a hostile attitude towards women in the effective altruism movement.

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Hostile attitude towards women -

In a Time magazine article from 2023, seven women reported misconduct and/or controversy, with the particular accusation that men in the movement were using their power to groom younger women.

See also: In pictures: The war in Ukraine, two years on

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