Amy Schiller makes her living advising on how to do philanthropy well. And she has written a book suggesting the approach to most modern philanthropy is fundamentally misguided.
The main problem she sees is that it seeks a “scientific” approach to address poverty, ill health, and the other basics of life as effectively as possible, often referred to as effective altruism. The Mint asked Amy what was wrong with that and what the alternative might be. The answers turned out to revolve around what it is to be human.
Amy’s argument seems to be that philanthropy should be confined to the non-essentials.
I really dislike EA and utilitarianism in general. I agree wholeheartedly with this.
However, the atmosphere around effectiveness has been encouraged by the donor organisations – your gift does good! This is understandable I think. People want to know they aren’t just wasting their time or money. I do want to know that fewer people are starving (or whatever).
I would love to see money channeled through international friendships – i think there are two places where this already exists – churches and sports.