Effective altruism

Abstract

It sounds obvious that it’s better to help two people than one if the cost is the same. However, when applied to the world today, this obvious-sounding idea leads to surprising conclusions. In short, we believe we need a new approach to having an impact: effective altruism. Modern levels of wealth and technology have given some members of the present generation potentially enormous abilities to help others, while our common-sense views of what it means to be a good person have not caught up with this change.