[Link] "A Long-run Perspective on Strategic Cause Selection and Philanthropy" by Nick Beckstead and Carl Shulman
post by Pablo (Pablo_Stafforini) · 2013-11-05T18:27:04.851Z · LW · GW · Legacy · 3 commentsA philanthropist who will remain anonymous recently asked us about what we would do if we didn’t face financial constraints. We gave a detailed answer that we thought we might as well share with others, who may also find our perspective interesting. We gave the answer largely in hope of creating some interest in our way of thinking about philanthropy and some of the causes that we find interesting for further investigation, and because we thought the answer would be fruitful for conversation.
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comment by ESRogs · 2013-11-08T19:55:56.333Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
First, I seem to have missed (or at least forgotten about) the creation of effective-altruism.com, so thanks for the link!
Second, is it clear to others who the "us" is in the first sentence? Did the anonymous philanthropist ask their question of Nick Beckstead and Carl Shulman in particular, or effective-altruism.com as a whole? (This is perhaps not a super-important question, but I'm just trying to get a more accurate picture of how effective-altruism.com operates and how others interact with the group.)
Replies from: ESRogscomment by Gunnar_Zarncke · 2013-11-05T21:33:37.539Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
My first though when evaluating the title was that philantrophy makes more utilitarian sense when seen as a long run strategy. This was not what was meant by the artical of course but may be an interesting view in itself.
Philanthropy has objective benefits for the philanthropist summarized rakish as: Getting fame and tax benefits for your pet projects.
from http://www.brad.ac.uk/ssis/new-philanthropy/objectives/ :
The reasons why philanthropists give are complex and can be incentivised by a number of different drivers, such as tax benefit or using charitable causes to manage reputational risk. While compassion may drive philanthropist to help the poor, their giving also hinges on notions of self-transformation and status in the social corporate responsibility stakes - ‘feed the poor, get a name’.