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The evolution of effective altruism

66 points · 171 comments · bazzmt

  1. drywater2 · · focus · HN ↗
    EA sounds like an excuse for billionaires to continue being the opposite of altruist.
    1. jefftk · · focus · HN ↗
      Very few billionaires are EAs. A few more have a generally EA approach to their giving. But billionaires are generally not that keen on EA because it would involve donating almost all their money.
      1. BLKNSLVR · · focus · HN ↗
        I get the feeling that the current membership is not, in fact, donating almost all their money.
        1. jefftk · · focus · HN ↗
          If you're a regular person and you start taking an EA approach to the world, that is probably not going to look like donating almost all your money: most people don't have that much disposable income, and applying your working hours directly to important problems will often be more effective. But if you have billions of dollars you totally should be trying to figure out how to give most of it away effectively.
          1. BLKNSLVR · · focus · HN ↗
            I agree with that.
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