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Earning to give

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Earning to give involves deliberately pursuing a high-earning career for the purpose of donating a significant portion of earned income, typically because of a belief in effective altruism. Advocates of earning to give contend that maximizing the amount one can donate to charity is an important consideration for individuals when deciding what career to pursue.[1]

Proponents

In the 1996 book Living High and Letting Die, the philosopher Peter Unger wrote that it was morally praiseworthy and perhaps even morally required for people in academia who could earn substantially greater salaries in the business world to leave academia, earn the greater salaries, and donate most of the extra money to charity.[2] Moral philosopher Peter Singer has laid the foundations for effective altruism and earning to give in his 1971 essay "Famine, Affluence and Morality" and since advocated for donating considerable amounts of one's income to effective charitable organizations.[3] Singer is a public proponent of effective altruism and endorsed earning to give in his 2013 TED talk.[4] Associate Professor in Philosophy at Oxford University William MacAskill promoted earning to give as one possible high impact career in several news articles and in his 2015 book Doing Good Better: Effective Altruism and a Radical New Way to Make a Difference.[5][6] MacAskill is the co-founder and president of 80,000 Hours, a nonprofit which conducts research on careers with positive social impact and provides career advice.[7] Initially, the organization recommended earning to give as a career path with a high impact potential for effective altruists,[8][9] though more recently it has deemphasised this approach, in favour of alternative paths like research, advocacy or policy reform.[10][11]

In practice

Many of the people who practice earning to give consider themselves to be part of the effective altruism community.[1][12][13] Some donate up to 50% of their income, more than the 10% required for the basic Giving What We Can pledge.[13][1] They may live frugally to donate more money.[13] Jobs in finance, particularly in quantitative trading,[14] are popular for those pursuing earning to give.[12][1]

Debate

David Brooks criticized the concept in his New York Times opinion column, arguing that, while altruists may start doing "earning to give" to realize their deepest commitments, their values may erode over time, becoming progressively less altruistic.[15] Similarly, John Humphrys criticised this idea on the BBC Today programme, saying that people interested in becoming wealthy tend to be selfish and that idealistic young people will become cynical as they age.[16] In addition, Brooks objected to the view on which altruists should turn themselves "into a machine for the redistribution of wealth."[15] Peter Singer responded to these criticisms in his book The Most Good You Can Do by giving examples of people who have been earning to give for years without losing their altruistic motivation.[17] William MacAskill also defended the practice against Brooks' criticisms in The Washington Post, arguing that even Friedrich Engels was earning to give to support the work of anti-capitalist Karl Marx financially.[6] Dana Goldstein has also criticized earning to give, prompting a response from Reihan Salam.[18]

Another concern was raised in the Oxford Left Review by Pete Mills, who wrote that lucrative careers perpetuate an unjust system.[19]

Media coverage

Earning to give has been discussed in a number of news and media outlets including BBC News,[20] Quartz,[21] the Washington Post,[6][9] the New York Times,[15][22] The Atlantic,[23] The Guardian,[24] and Aeon Magazine.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Kristof, Nicholas (April 4, 2015). "The Trader Who Donates Half His Pay". New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  2. ^ Unger, Peter (1996). Living High and Letting Die. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198026811.
  3. ^ Wolfe, Alexandra (2015-04-03). "Peter Singer on the Ethics of Philanthropy". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  4. ^ Singer, Peter, The why and how of effective altruism, retrieved 2017-04-04
  5. ^ "To save the world, don't get a job at a charity; go work on Wall Street". Quartz. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  6. ^ a b c MacAskill, William; MacAskill, William (2015-09-10). "Working for a hedge fund could be the most charitable thing you do". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  7. ^ "Meet the team - 80,000 Hours". 80,000 Hours. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  8. ^ "Why and how to earn to give - 80,000 Hours". 80,000 Hours. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  9. ^ a b "Join Wall Street. Save the world". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  10. ^ "80,000 Hours thinks that only a small proportion of people should earn to give long term - 80,000 Hours". 80,000 Hours. 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  11. ^ "A list of the most urgent global issues". 80,000 Hours. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  12. ^ a b "The young professionals who believe their best chance at trying to save the world is by joining Wall Street and making millions". Daily Mail. June 2, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  13. ^ a b c MacFarquhar, Larissa (2015). Strangers Drowning. London: Penguin. ISBN 1594204330.
  14. ^ Todd, Ben. "Trading in quantitative hedge funds (for earning to give)". Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  15. ^ a b c Brooks, David (2013-06-03). "The Way to Produce a Person". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
  16. ^ Crouch, William; Hislop, Ian (22 November 2011). "BBC News - Today - Do bankers make the world better?". Today (Interview). John Humphrys. Retrieved 29 October 2012. {{cite interview}}: Unknown parameter |subjectlink2= ignored (|subject-link2= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "'Earning to Give' Leads to Happiness". Yale Press Log. 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  18. ^ Salam, Reihan (May 31, 2013). "The Rise of the Singerians". National Review. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  19. ^ Mills, Pete (May 2012). "The Ethical Careers Debate". The Oxford Left Review (7): 4–9. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  20. ^ Coughlan, Sean (2011-11-21). "Banking 'can be an ethical career choice'". BBC News. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
  21. ^ MacAskill, William (2013-02-27). "To save the world, don't get a job at a charity; go work on Wall Street". Quartz. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
  22. ^ Zaki, Jamil (2015-12-05). "The Feel-Good School of Philanthropy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  23. ^ Thompson, Derek. "The Most Efficient Way to Save a Life". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  24. ^ Gunther, Marc (2015-09-22). "Forget your dreams and follow the money if you want to help the world". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  25. ^ Southan, Rhys (March 20, 2014). "Is it OK to make art? If you express your creativity while other people go hungry, you're probably not making the world a better place". Aeon Magazine. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  • Jeff Kaufman, 'History of earning to give', parts 1, 2, 3
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