Could Effective Altruism Destroy the Arts?
Submitted by Steve on September 10, 2015
Gary P. Steuer, President and CEO of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation (and a current member of the GIA Board of Directors) continues the discussion on effective altruism that is being held on the opinion pages of The Washington Post:
The effective altruists’ completely dispassionate assessment of “value” — lives saved per dollar — does not allow for a holistic approach to what makes a healthy society. If everybody gave as they did, we might well end up solving Third World crises at the expense of deepening crises right here at home. Rampant poverty and public health challenges in the United States would ultimately damage our local and national economies, diminishing our long-term capacity to help abroad. In addition, many of the things that are important to our souls — beauty, hope, joy, tolerance, inspiration — are fostered through the arts. They may be very hard to sufficiently measure in a world of purely data-driven philanthropy. This does not mean they are not important.