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DOING GOOD
BETTER
Effective altruism asks: “HOW CAN I MAKE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE I CAN?” and uses evidence & careful reasoning to try to find an answer. It takes a scientific approach to doing good.
Just as SCIENCE consists of the HONEST AND IMPARTIAL ATTEMPT TO WORK OUT WHAT’S TRUE, and a commitment to believe the truth whatever that turns out to be… LEARN MORE
…EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM consists of the HONEST
AND IMPARTIAL ATTEMPT TO WORK OUT WHAT’S BEST FOR THE WORLD,
and a commitment to do what’s best,
whatever that turns out to be.
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These 5 questions will guide you in your quest to
ensure you’re making not just a difference, but the most
difference you can.LEARN MORE
HOW MANY PEOPLE BENEFIT? AND BY HOW MUCH?
1 !
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We need to make hard decisions about who we help and who we don’t; that means thinking about how much benefit is provided by different activities. The quality-adjusted life year allows us to compare the impact of different sorts of health programs.OU
TCOM
E
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IS THIS THE MOST EFFECTIVE THING YOU CAN DO?
2 !
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The very best health and education programs are hundreds of times better than “merely” very good programs. For example, smallpox eradication did so much good that it alone shows development aid to be highly cost-effective on average.
IMPA
CT
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Natural disasters get far more funding than ongoing causes of death and suffering such as disease; for that reason, disaster relief usually isn’t the most effective use of funds. Diseases, like malaria, that affect people in the developing world, get far less funding than conditions like cancer; for that reason you have a much bigger impact treating people with malaria than with cancer.
NEED
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WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED OTHERWISE?
4 !?
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INEV
ITAB
LEThis question helps us to avoid trying to do good works that would happen with or without our involvement. In careers like medicine, you’re sometimes simply doing good work that would have happened anyway.
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WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF SUCCESS, AND HOW GOOD WOULD SUCCESS BE?
5!
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REW
ARD Some activities—such as
voting, entering politics, campaigning for systemic change, or mitigating risks of global catastrophe—are effective not because they’re likely to make a difference but because their impact is so great if they do make a difference.
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"Beautifully written and extremely smart. DOING GOOD BETTER should be required reading for anyone interested in making the world better."
—STEVEN LEVITT, Author of Freakonomics
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