These things are tricky. Humans are good at self-deception, so it is easy to simply do whatever is convenient for me, and invent a story about how doing this is by coincidence also the best way to help everyone else.
(“Why would I send money to fight malaria? If I buy the latest iPhone instead, I am pretty sure some of those components are made in Africa, or at least some minerals are mined there, so I am creating jobs for people who can then spend the extra income on anti-malaria nets. This is even better, because their income is sustainable.” Ignoring the fact that if I send $1000 to effective charity, it means $1000 worth of anti-malaria nets, while spending $1000 on iPhone means that less than $1 ends in hands of someone who would need such net.)
On the other hand, reversed selfishness is not philanthropy. Focusing on not having any personal benefit means avoiding all win/win solutions; which is really bad, because these are likely more sustainable than the alternatives. This is about signaling virtue, perhaps to oneself. (By choosing the option that gives you no personal benefit, you send a costly signal that you are not motivated by the personal benefit in the first place.)
If you can’t trust yourself, perhaps you should seek opinion of the people whose opinion you respect. Yes, even that has the same problem on a higher level—depending on which conclusion you want to reach, those people you will be motivated to ask—but at least it is not under your direct control; they may surprise you.
But ultimately, I think the answer is: do the best option that is sustainable for you. You may need some experimenting to find out what exactly it is. Also the answer may change later.
These things are tricky. Humans are good at self-deception, so it is easy to simply do whatever is convenient for me, and invent a story about how doing this is by coincidence also the best way to help everyone else.
(“Why would I send money to fight malaria? If I buy the latest iPhone instead, I am pretty sure some of those components are made in Africa, or at least some minerals are mined there, so I am creating jobs for people who can then spend the extra income on anti-malaria nets. This is even better, because their income is sustainable.” Ignoring the fact that if I send $1000 to effective charity, it means $1000 worth of anti-malaria nets, while spending $1000 on iPhone means that less than $1 ends in hands of someone who would need such net.)
On the other hand, reversed selfishness is not philanthropy. Focusing on not having any personal benefit means avoiding all win/win solutions; which is really bad, because these are likely more sustainable than the alternatives. This is about signaling virtue, perhaps to oneself. (By choosing the option that gives you no personal benefit, you send a costly signal that you are not motivated by the personal benefit in the first place.)
If you can’t trust yourself, perhaps you should seek opinion of the people whose opinion you respect. Yes, even that has the same problem on a higher level—depending on which conclusion you want to reach, those people you will be motivated to ask—but at least it is not under your direct control; they may surprise you.
But ultimately, I think the answer is: do the best option that is sustainable for you. You may need some experimenting to find out what exactly it is. Also the answer may change later.