Effective Altruism Is A Cult
Effective Altruism Is A Cult
On the inchoate suspicions of grumpy, heavily armed bloggers
On an individual level, I think EAs are glassy-eyed but harmless indoor kids with tech money. But I like RC. He’s heavily armed, takes no shit, and turns into a wheel of blades when challenged, and I appreciate that in a person. On nothing more than that basis, I thought I’d take a look at the precepts of EA and see if I could pull them apart.
Utilitarianism. Alternatives are considered at best to be mistakes.
Importance of Suffering. Suffering is The Bad. Happiness/pleasure is The Good.
Quantification. Emphasis on that which can be seen and measured.
Bureaucracy. Distribution of funds via organizational grants and applications.
Scope Sensitivity. Shut up and multiply, two are twice as good as one.
Intentionality. You should to plan your life around the impact it will have.
Effectiveness. Do what works. The goal is to cut the enemy.
Altruism. The best way to do good yourself is to act selflessly to do good.
Obligation. We owe the future quite a lot, arguably everything.
Coordination. Working together is more effective than cultivating competition.
Selflessness. You shouldn’t value yourself, locals or family more than others.
Self-Recommending. Belief in the movement and methods themselves.
Evangelicalism. Belief that it is good to convert others and add resources to EA.
Reputation. EA should optimize largely for EA’s reputation.
Modesty. Non-neglected topics can be safely ignored, often consensus trusted.
Existential Risk. Wiping out all value in the universe is really, really bad.
Sacrifice. Important to set a good example, and to not waste resources.
Judgment. Not living up to this list is morally bad. Also sort of like murder.
Veganism. If you are not vegan many EAs treat you as non-serious (or even evil).
Grace. In practice people can’t live up to this list fully and that’s acceptable.
Totalization. Things outside the framework are considered to have no value.
Based on these, I’d say at least one reason RC doesn’t like EAs is that they’re unambiguously a cult. Let’s go through why I believe this.
Utilitarianism. Alternatives are considered at best to be mistakes.
Importance of Suffering. Suffering is The Bad. Happiness/pleasure is The Good.
Suffering builds character. If you want to bubble-wrap the world, there is a fundamental gap between your world-view and mine that probably isn’t getting bridged.
Quantification. Emphasis on that which can be seen and measured.
I’m a fan of quantification. I also sincerely believe that there’s a wolf-god that incarnates within his followers from time to time, and that there are other gods who do the same. There’s a time and a place for each.
Bureaucracy. Distribution of funds via organizational grants and applications.
I probably have a higher tolerance for bureaucracy than most of my readers, because I think the tradeoff between stability of telecommunications, power grids, and other public utilities and the inconvenience, graft, and poor customer service that comes from a government monopoly is worth it. I’ve spent enough time in the Third World that I’m comfortable with that decision.
Scope Sensitivity. Shut up and multiply, two are twice as good as one.
I’ve seriously considered tattooing “More Dakka” on my arm. I’m okay with this.
Intentionality. You should to plan your life around the impact it will have.
Fair enough.
Effectiveness. Do what works. The goal is to cut the enemy.
You had me at “cut the enemy.”
Altruism. The best way to do good yourself is to act selflessly to do good.
I am suspicious of anyone who says or implies they’re selfless. I think the overwhelming majority of the things people do are ultimately for their own benefit, even if that benefit is not obvious to observers, and I’m fine with that. I think you should not be intentionally antisocial, but if you don’t want to sing “Kumbaya,” more power to you.
Obligation. We owe the future quite a lot, arguably everything.
One of my favorite lines from a Best of Craigslist post entitled Advice to Young Men From an Old Man is “You don’t owe the vast majority of people shit.” Don’t tell me I owe anyone anything. I know who I owe, and how much I owe them. I also know what I’m owed.
Coordination. Working together is more effective than cultivating competition.
I think it depends, but I don’t really have a problem with this one.
Selflessness. You shouldn’t value yourself, locals or family more than others.
This was the one where I considered compound blasphemies accompanied by a raised middle finger instead of an actual answer. But if I must take that statement seriously, that’s only one ethical framework. Another is any variation on concentric circles that enclose one’s loved ones, community, region/muncipality, and/or nation.
Self-Recommending. Belief in the movement and methods themselves.
This is starting to sound explicitly culty. I don’t do blind belief in an organization, regardless of the organization. And I evaluate method as part of my day job. If your methods are good, fine. I don’t know that I think EA’s heuristics are good, though. They don’t reflect reality as I understand it in all cases.
Evangelicalism. Belief that it is good to convert others and add resources to EA.
That is a cult, by any definition with which I’m familiar.
Reputation. EA should optimize largely for EA’s reputation.
I assume by the first “EA” The Zvi means “Effective Altruists,” not “Effective Altruism.” I don’t optimize for anyone’s reputation but my own. That’s not how it works. I stand by my word and my actions. I can’t stand by anyone else’s; that’s not a reasonable expectation of anyone.
Modesty. Non-neglected topics can be safely ignored, often consensus trusted.
“The collective decides what its members can discuss.”
Existential Risk. Wiping out all value in the universe is really, really bad.
Sacrifice. Important to set a good example, and to not waste resources.
I don’t disagree with any of this.
Judgment. Not living up to this list is morally bad. Also sort of like murder.
If your social group has precepts not generally accepted by society, deviation from which makes you a moral outcast, its structure is religious in nature.
Veganism. If you are not vegan many EAs treat you as non-serious (or even evil).
If your social group has dietary rules not generally accepted by society, deviation from which puts you in a lower social or moral tier, you are a member of either a religion, or more rarely, a sex cult. I cannot think of any exceptions to this rule.
Grace. In practice people can’t live up to this list fully and that’s acceptable.
Well, that’s a relie—
Totalization. Things outside the framework are considered to have no value.
Y’all are a cult.
Yes, they are a cult. Specifically, they're the kind I refer to as a "crusader cult"- evangelical and eschatological. Which makes them a permanent tactical threat to anyone who isn't them, which means I stopped giving a shit forever about the nuances of their theology.
A utilitarian who is certain of their moral altitude will, logically, kill you if you are not them. Plan accordingly.
The veganism is a giant red flag. I'm sure they've got some autistic, long-winded justification for why veganism is essential, probably involving animal cognition and suffering, environmental impact, and long-term ability of the planet to sustain human life, and I'm sure it all makes perfect sense when proceeding from whatever priors they're reasoning from. Since those priors result in malnourished humans with smaller brains, weak muscles, and reduced sex drives, who are moreover systematically deprived of one the great goods of life (juicy steaks), those priors are obviously nonsense. Since the conclusion is included in the list of precepts, and therefore apparently has been raised above the level of debate - yep, cult.
Another thing cults do, btw: weaken their adherents so as to make them easier to control. No accident that vegetarianism and veganism are perennial cult practices.