Philanthropy

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The New York Times recently asked, is it ethical to work for a major oil company or something like that? And their verdict apparently was that it can be. But what you're saying also brings to mind Sam Bankman for you, right? CTO of FTX. His argument is that he's engaging in all those crypto stuff. So he makes a lot of money that he can give to these causes to make the world a better place. I feel like in this moment there's a growing kind of questioning of the role of philanthropy.

Paris Marx is joined by Émile P. Torres to discuss the ongoing effort to sell effective altruism and longtermism to the public, and why they’re philosophies that won’t solve the real problems we face.

Émile P. Torres is a PhD candidate at Leibniz University Hannover and the author of the forthcoming book Human Extinction: A History of the Science and Ethics of Annihilation. Follow Émile on Twitter at @xriskology.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

Émile recently wrote about the ongoing effort to sell longtermism and effective altruism to the public.
Peter Singer wrote an article published in 1972 arguing that rich people need to give to charity, which went on to influence effective altruists.
NYT recently opined on whether it’s ethical for lawyers to defend climate villains.
Nathan Robinson recently criticized effective altruism for Current Affairs.

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