To some degree, this article is less about moralizing and more of a “how to” guide.
The specific quote the grandparent was replying to is about moralizing.
And likewise, there is only one best charity: the one that helps the most people the greatest amount per dollar.
One could strip the moralizing element from the quote (and the article) in a fairly straightforward manner. The best charity someone can donate to is subjectively objective: the one that achieves the most benefit per dollar according to that persons values, altruistic or otherwise.
The specific quote the grandparent was replying to is about moralizing.
The problem with the word “best” there is the same problem the word “good” always runs into—the difference between “a good car” and “a good person”. I’m using “best charity” in the same sense I would use “best Arctic survival gear”—best at achieving the purpose you are assumed to have. Although I think there is a case for that also being the morally best for most moral systems in which “morally best” makes sense, that would be way outside the scope of this discussion.
I understand what you are doing in the post and follow the sense of ‘best’. What I am observing is that the claim “you are moralizing” is factually correct. The moralization is not in the form of a direct ‘should’ nor is it in the way in which you use best. It can be seen here:
best at achieving the purpose you are assumed to have.
The specific quote the grandparent was replying to is about moralizing.
One could strip the moralizing element from the quote (and the article) in a fairly straightforward manner. The best charity someone can donate to is subjectively objective: the one that achieves the most benefit per dollar according to that persons values, altruistic or otherwise.
The problem with the word “best” there is the same problem the word “good” always runs into—the difference between “a good car” and “a good person”. I’m using “best charity” in the same sense I would use “best Arctic survival gear”—best at achieving the purpose you are assumed to have. Although I think there is a case for that also being the morally best for most moral systems in which “morally best” makes sense, that would be way outside the scope of this discussion.
I understand what you are doing in the post and follow the sense of ‘best’. What I am observing is that the claim “you are moralizing” is factually correct. The moralization is not in the form of a direct ‘should’ nor is it in the way in which you use best. It can be seen here:
That is an extremely powerful moral gambit.