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Effective altruism (EA) asks the question: how can we use our time and money to do the most good? Some of the key components of effective altruism are:
- Selecting areas to work on by how neglected, impactful, and tractable they are
- Rigorous cost-effectiveness evaluation of charities by research teams such as GiveWell
- Career strategies like doing direct work or earning to give
- A global focus, putting into practice the idea that we shouldn't discriminate based on nationality. Some people expand their circle beyond people alive today to include animals or future generations
- Transparency, sharing ideas and being open to criticism
- Forming communities (through hundreds of local groups around the world, and membership organizations such as Giving What We Can and The Life You Can Save) to gain strength in numbers
There is a substantial amount of relevant information on the web, including evaluations and recommendations of charities, philosophical discussions and career advice.
Help out by creating some wanted pages, or improving some stub pages.
Getting Involved
There are many venues for discussing effective altruism, both on the Internet and local groups. If there isn't a group in your area, it's easy to start one. There are many other ways to get involved.
If you're not a native English speaker, check out EA venues in other languages, and feel free to make EA Wiki pages in any language.
Already into EA? A key strategy for doing good effectively is to encourage others to do the same. Read about how to talk about EA, and very brief EA summaries.
New to EA? Have a look at Peter Singer's TED Talk on Effective Altruism, or the effective altruism page.
Questions and criticisms
Responding to constructive feedback is important. See our FAQ, as well as Common objections to effective altruism and Criticism of effective altruism.
