Another point I would add is that excessive internal criticism within the EA community could also hurt community-building efforts.
Sometimes it's easy for us to forget that EA's core principles of cause prioritization and the moral responsibility to maximize positive impact can be jarring at first encounter (think about the first time you read Singer's drowning child essay).
When someone first reads the very strong arguments in favor of EA, they often look for a "way out" so that they can go back to the comfortable status quo of eating factory-farmed meat and only caring about their pet projects (instead of effective giving). If the EA community presents itself as overly critical of its own core principles, it might lead more people to overlook the compelling theoretical basis that makes up the foundation of EA, and use these critiques as an "out" to vindicate themselves from having to engage with EA any further.
Another point I would add is that excessive internal criticism within the EA community could also hurt community-building efforts.
Sometimes it's easy for us to forget that EA's core principles of cause prioritization and the moral responsibility to maximize positive impact can be jarring at first encounter (think about the first time you read Singer's drowning child essay).
When someone first reads the very strong arguments in favor of EA, they often look for a "way out" so that they can go back to the comfortable status quo of eating factory-farmed meat and only caring about their pet projects (instead of effective giving). If the EA community presents itself as overly critical of its own core principles, it might lead more people to overlook the compelling theoretical basis that makes up the foundation of EA, and use these critiques as an "out" to vindicate themselves from having to engage with EA any further.