The Third Aspect of Effective Altruism

Most giving is not driven by a desire to do as much good as possible. It can be for symbolic reasons or, more cynically, to look good in front of your friends. Many people would make sense not to maximiser giving, but to give in ways that lead to the most positive reinforcement around their behaviour. But one thing that we've learned over the last 12 years of promoting effective altruism is that many people actually have this desire.