My current rationalisation for my level of charitable giving is “if, say, the wealthiest top billion humans gave as much as me, most of the worlds current problems that can be solved by charity would be solved in short order”.
I use this as a labor-saving angst prevention device.
Me: “Am I a good person ? Am I giving too little ? How should I figure out how much to give ? What does my giving reveal about my true preferences ? What would people I admire think of me if they knew ?”
Also, do the wealthiest top billion humans share your values?
If you asked them what the “world’s current problems” are, would they give the same answer as you?
For instance, there are hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people who want me to burn in hell forever for not believing in a god. I don’t mean “who think I will burn”, I actually do mean “want me to burn”. Needless to say, their values are opposed to my values.
My current rationalisation for my level of charitable giving is “if, say, the wealthiest top billion humans gave as much as me, most of the worlds current problems that can be solved by charity would be solved in short order”.
I use this as a labor-saving angst prevention device.
Me: “Am I a good person ? Am I giving too little ? How should I figure out how much to give ? What does my giving reveal about my true preferences ? What would people I admire think of me if they knew ?”
Me: “Extra trillions thing. Get back to work.”
That’s interesting, but how much money is needed to solve “most of the world’s current problems”?
Also, do the wealthiest top billion humans share your values?
If you asked them what the “world’s current problems” are, would they give the same answer as you?
For instance, there are hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people who want me to burn in hell forever for not believing in a god. I don’t mean “who think I will burn”, I actually do mean “want me to burn”. Needless to say, their values are opposed to my values.