Effective altruism is a relatively new philosophy that introduces a new model for living an altruistic life. “Traditional” altruism involves making charitable acts based on a less reasoned and poorly calculated methodology. It is common for someone to be moved to altruism by an emotional story or because of an issue’s proximity; this is deemed a sub-optimal use of one’s resources. The main goal of effective altruism is to find ways we can maximize the efficacy our resources can make in improving the world.
The application of effective altruism in our lives can be unsettling because it challenges us to live an extremely moral life, which is not a standard most humans can sustain or even reach. In its purest form, it leaves no room for bias towards one’s family or friends and tasks us with an obligation to treat every single human being equally. The barriers between family, friend and stranger do not exist under the moral paradigm of effective altruism.
Before deciding how to give more effectively, you must be convinced as to why you should give at all. On the most fundamental level, one’s lot in life is entirely dependent on luck. Every human being has undergone a series of lotteries that brought them to where they are. Some win the intelligence lottery, some the health lottery, others the geographic lottery — like if they are born in an democratic and affluent country — and so forth. Some people are endowed with the traits we all desire, while others seem to be the unluckiest people on Earth and receive all the misfortune imaginable — poverty, ill health, oppression, low social status. Recognizing the role luck plays in shaping our circumstances should humbly prompt us to reconsider whether anyone is truly deserving of the good or bad fortune they possess. Bearing this in mind, the concept of “self-made” becomes incoherent. No one deserves more than anyone else. A moral society consists of distributing all its resources equally among its constituents.
One common issue effective altruists seek to address is the suboptimal use of the resources we have already pledged to donate. Oftentimes, we find ourselves moved to help others through sentimentality rather than reason. A neighbor may start a GoFundMe asking for donations to help pay for a funeral for their loved one, or a local teacher may ask for money to buy a wheelchair for their paralyzed child. There is nothing wrong with helping in these situations, but we should question if they are the most optimal use of our resources.
Usually, sympathy and compassion move us to help others. Another option is to use a cost-benefit analysis to determine the most impactful charities. The Against Malaria Foundation (AMF) is a popular example of a reasoned but “unexciting” use of our resources. The AMF uses donations to send cheap insecticide-treated bed nets to low-income countries to protect people there against malaria, a leading cause of death in underdeveloped countries. These bed nets cost $2 on average and can be easily distributed, preventing many more illnesses and potentially saving millions of lives.
If improving the world in the best way possible is our objective when we engage in altruistic acts, then we need to use data to inform our decisions. It is very easy to be moved to action by a sentimental story about a needy person whom we share something in common with. Donating cheap but effective bed nets, vaccines, basic food and educational supplies to people on the other side of the world who we share nothing in common with except our mere humanity may not be the most immediate thought we have when considering how to spend our resources. However, if our goal is to use our resources in the most cost-effective way that brings about the most happiness while simultaneously mitigating suffering, we must rely on our reasoning rather than our emotion. Our money goes a lot further when we provide basic needs to people living in an underdeveloped nation.
We do not need to neglect our friends and neighbors in favor of making the greatest difference in the world. We can and should seek a healthy balance between making those we care about happier and offering relief to the millions of people suffering from a lack of basic needs.
Sameh Sharoud is a fourth-year Psychology major with a minor in Biology. SS1015422@wcupa.edu