But there’s still plenty more research to do into how individuals can personally be effective altruists, Wiblin says.
“Is it better to donate money now or invest it and wait for better information? Is it best to tackle poverty directly or by funding research into breakthrough technologies or by tackling climate change [which will disproportionately affect the poor]? And how can we best encourage others to give to charities that work?”
There are a lot of questions, and true to his effectiveness mantra, Wiblin says he’ll have to consider which of them is most important to start with at his new job in Oxford. While people such as Melbourne University utilitarian philosopher Peter Singer have done much to push the moral case for charity, Wiblin says, the importance of effectiveness hasn’t gained enough traction. This means more people are living in poverty than would otherwise be the case.
“I think it’s fair to say that this is an issue that has been neglected, even among the people who believe we have a moral responsibility to assist others.”
“If you look across developing world, many charities can’t demonstrate their impact rigorously.
“If we redirect resources from projects that don’t work at all to projects that save lives at low cost, we can do a lot of good without even spending more money.”
Myriam Robin is a reporter for SmartCompany and its sister site LeadingCompany. She has degrees in economics, international studies and journalism. She likes writing about businesses taking risks and doing new things.
