Pet peeve: For posts relevant to the US only, state it. Preferably in the title.
(1) I'm also a bit confused about the difference between charitable projects and hosted funds. First, I thought it means it's not possible to donate to funds via GWWC website, but after reading it again, I interpreted it as a change happening rather back-end and won't impact recommendations. Instead, it would be a change in the oversight GWWC promises for the funds. Have I understood it correctly?
I just found that Sebastian Schwiecker had written a blog post on the same topic.
Because of
I was hoping there were good EA blog posts on this topic, but after spending a while with EA Forum search and Google I didn't find any.
... I'm leaving this link here :) https://effektiv-spenden.org/blog/wie-viel-soll-ich-spenden/
Fair enough! Thanks for sharing this perspective as well. I guess that a rights-based animal charity evaluator would focus more on making change through legislation and litigation, failing to notice other approaches to improve animal welfare. However, there could be something that the current approach of EA orgs is missing more easily, which the rights-based lens would include.
So, to summarize:
- Some animal rights activists have impractical attitudes (for creating change effectively, such as not using non-violent communication) and alienating attitudes towards non-rights-based interventions to improve animal welfare. You find value in promoting other approaches than that.
- You find good arguments for welfarist tradition.
- On the other hand, being against animal rights doesn't cling right and talking for animal rights can be a good shortcut.
- You believe there is an overlap with welfarist and rights-based ethical theories that should be appreciated.
Did I understand you right?
Thanks for the response! I didn't first think of different moral value systems which obviously have an impact on how people view the issue of animal suffering and well-being. I still think a 'rights' mindset can be a valuable extension of utilitarianism, for implementing the change we want to happen on an institutional/legislative level to improve animal welfare. I also think it is easier to imagine personhood for non-human animals when using a rights-based approach. They are not just beings that events are happening to, but individuals for whom the ability to live a full life using their capabilities is instrumental for their well-being. And there talking about rights can be useful. That's how I'd quickly sum up how I think about it :)
Thanks for writing the post! I'm not an expert in the area and would be interested in learning more about the topic.
Regarding R&D in the US, it reminds me of the Founders Pledge Climate Change Fund's strategy which focused on reducing energy poverty (at least some years ago. Their strategy might have changed based on their website.)
In general, why are you focusing mainly on US development policies in the section "What would we need to do to make this work?" I understand it's one of the biggest players, but one could make arguments for policy work in other countries as well, e.g., citizens of small EU countries trying to impact the EU, as the representation and power relative to the population size can be high.
When it comes to "should EA do this" I think of it as, would I recommend someone who is doing EA-focused career planning to pursue a career influencing long-distance development policy if they are a good fit for it? Even if this post doesn't result in new "EA orgs" getting founded I think it is valuable discussion as this might be read by people with an EA mindset considering pursuing development policy careers or working in the field.
Thank you for continuing to share these! I likely would have donated less to the AWF if you didn't share public reports.