Doing stuff with money …

… Affective altruism | Overland literary journal. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

It is hard to argue with any of what Singer said about Effective Altruism, except perhaps the statement that it is only recently that the world has seen the creation of such an organisation – one that wants people to think about living better lives and helping others. Whatever one might think about the Christian Church, and the things that have been done in its name over the ages, I don’t think one can argue that a fundamental element of its philosophy is the belief that human beings should be motivated by love and self-sacrifice and the desire to put others before themselves. But this is a mere quibble. The really troubling aspect of Singer’s talk was what he left unsaid. He made no mention at all of the causes of global poverty or of how we might go about tackling them.