Effective altruism has been in the news of late. Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, which collapsed in 2022, was for many years a leading voice for and financial sponsor of the effective altruist movement. He and others have argued for ‘longtermism’: the idea that positively influencing the distant future is a key moral priority of our time. As effective altruism and longtermism have become increasingly influential, these ideas have also been subject to greater scrutiny. 

Ryan Briggs is an associate professor in the Guelph Institute of Development Studies and Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph. He has worked extensively on foreign aid, African politics, and effective altruism. Twitter: @ryancbriggs

Resources:

• Ryan's research on foreign aid and African politics
• Rethinking Foreign Aid and Legitimacy: Views from Aid Recipients in Kenya (Lindsay R. Dolan)
• The Life You Can Save (conversation with Peter Singer, in season 3 of In Pursuit of Development)

Key highlights:

• Introduction - 00:43
• The current status of the effective altruism movement - 03:08
• Strengthening effective altruism with a capability approach - 15:07
• The political effects of foreign aid - 21:37
• Targeting the poorest in World Bank projects - 39:43
• How effective altruism can shape aid policies - 48:32

Host:

Professor Dan Banik, University of Oslo, Twitter: @danbanik  @GlobalDevPod

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Host:

Professor Dan Banik, 

Centre for Global Sustainability, University of Oslo

Subscribe:

Apple Spotify YouTube

https://globaldevpod.substack.com/