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A review by cstack
10th Anniversary Edition the Life You Can Save: How to Do Your Part to End World Poverty by Peter Singer
4.0
One of the central texts of Effective Altruism. It's a methodical argument in favor of the richer portion of the world giving a lot more than they already do to the poorer portion of the world. The author is a moral philosopher, and I see that in the sometimes condescending, sterile tone.
The first half takes the argument to an extreme, concluding that the morally right thing is to give until it would cause harm to yourself comparable to the harm the world's poor are experiencing.
In the second half, he walks that back and proposes a less extreme standard of giving.
I see parallels to the question of offsetting your carbon footprint. How can you know you're doing the most good without unintended consequences? Isn't it unfair if you do your part but others don't? Isn't the better solution political change, rather than individual action?
He addresses just about all the critiques I've heard, but I still find talking about effective altruism with others to be pretty harrowing. I find it almost impossible not to come off as condescending.
The first half takes the argument to an extreme, concluding that the morally right thing is to give until it would cause harm to yourself comparable to the harm the world's poor are experiencing.
In the second half, he walks that back and proposes a less extreme standard of giving.
I see parallels to the question of offsetting your carbon footprint. How can you know you're doing the most good without unintended consequences? Isn't it unfair if you do your part but others don't? Isn't the better solution political change, rather than individual action?
He addresses just about all the critiques I've heard, but I still find talking about effective altruism with others to be pretty harrowing. I find it almost impossible not to come off as condescending.