David Clarke

@ Various think tanks working on economics and finance
49 karmaJoined Working (6-15 years)

Bio

I'm a writer and researcher with an interest in economic justice.

I'm developing a project whereby I recruit some random strangers to decide where to donate £100k I have inherited.

How others can help me

I'm looking to speak with people who are interested in the intersection between effective altruism, economic justice and democracy.

How I can help others

Reach out to me if you have questions about working for thinktanks and/or financial regulation.

Comments
6

This is one of the coolest things I've seen in a while!

Just one thought (and sorry if this has already been suggested elsewhere) is that it'd be useful to have a short explanation on the site regarding the markets you're using, and who they're populated by.

Honestly though, this is really gr8 and I can see it having a huge amount of potential.

That's a really cool tool, thanks! 

I'm thinking they'll be introduced to EA concepts among other approaches, which will hopefully reduce the risk of undue influence.

Thanks very much! I've spoken to a couple of experts on PGM and have signed up to this mailing list: https://www.participatorygrantmaking.org/. I hadn't seen those resources though so I'll check them out. 

I think it's unlikely that people will choose to make donations that I regard as totally useless. If they do, then that'll be learning in itself. In general, I think rich people hoarding wealth is a bigger problem for society than people making slightly suboptimal decisions about their giving, so I'm comfortable with the idea of putting a big sum towards this project.

Thanks for your kind words and for the heads up about these other initiatives - I'll look into them. 

I'm interested in the idea of who makes a "good decision maker". I think the question of what causes are worth donating towards is in large part a value judgement which your average citizen is just as well-equipped to make as anyone else. Particularly if they're able to draw on outside expertise, which I intend on providing to them. 

It's possible that at the end of the process the participants will say that they don't really feel like they added much value and/or it was a burdensome responsibility, in which case that'll be an argument in favour of leaving philanthropic decision-making in the hands of experts. However, if they feel like it is an empowering experience and/or it reaches a good outcome, it may inspire other people in my position to go in a similar direction.