You would like to go to the beach tomorrow if it's sunny, but aren't sure whether it will rain; if it rains, you'd rather go to the movies. So you resolve to put on a swimsuit and a raincoat, and thus attired, attend the beach in the morning and the movies in the afternoon, regardless of the weather. Something is wrong with that decision process,[1] and it's also wrong with the decisions made by many supposedly systemic approaches to philanthropy: it does not engage with real and potentially resolvable uncertainty about decision-relevant facts.

Different popular philanthropic programs correspond to very different hypotheses about why people are doing wealth inequality, much like swim trunks and a trip to the movies represent different hypotheses about the weather. Instead of working backwards from the proposals to the hypotheses, I will lay out what I think are the two main hypotheses worth considering [...]

The original text contained 1 footnote which was omitted from this narration.

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First published:
January 5th, 2025

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/J49XLw29FfBzaQX4E/oppression-and-production-are-competing-explanations-for

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

“Oppression and production are competing explanations for wealth inequality.” by Benquo

LessWrong (30+ Karma)