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Where should anti-paternalists donate?
George_H7y2
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[comment 2/2 on GD's uncaptured effectiveness value via systemic influence - separating comments as they raise related but essentially distinct issues)

UBI: GD’s universal basic income experiment is currently the world’s largest. While nobody can really know what effects a nationally implemented a UBI would have, it could be an incredibly effective tool for reducing inequality, unlocking human flourishing, etc. It’s easy to discount the value of the messy and unmeasurable, but if GD’s work hastens the route to nations considering the idea seriously then thi... (read more)

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1[anonymous]7y
Hey thanks for this. I think your case for GD is really compelling and people need to bear it in mind. I wouldn't say that we should discount anti-paternalism. My point is really to figure out what follows from anti-paternalism, conceived as an intrinsically desirable goal. For the reasons you give and for some of those discussed with Ben Hoffman, there might well be instrumental reasons to have a perhaps weak presumption against more paternalistic interventions. This is a difficult question, and one I don't have a particularly firm view on.
Where should anti-paternalists donate?
George_H7y3
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Thanks for a clear and insightful post - comparing different cause areas is challenging enough, and it’s particularly hard to weigh up different value sets at the same time (i.e. anti-paternalism and measurable utility). And thanks for including my brief comments on GD, although not sure my insights really warrant the concluding line:

“Nonetheless, even if GiveDirectly is less cost-effective than other charities, there may be other reasons to donate to GiveDirectly. One could for example argue, as George Howlett does, that GiveDirectly promises substantial ... (read more)

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Hard-to-reverse decisions destroy option value
George_H7y2
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Insightful post, thanks - researching movement-building strategy always throws up fascinating new concepts for the toolkit.

On a related note - this is a fascinating read (long but worth it): Dominic Cummings, the chief Brexit campaign strategist discusses the campaign, with lots of provocative points about option values, branching futures, unrecognised simplicities of effective action, and non-linearities of political progress. While I may not be a particular fan of his politics, he's a provocative and uncompromising thinker and perhaps has a few similarit... (read more)

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