Тег: Rand

How does Libertarianism relate to the Effective Altruism movement?

Howard Roark

A small introduction for the readers. Effective altruism is a family of approaches to the task of changing the world for the better. Within this doctrine, it is considered how to achieve maximum effect with minimum means, what considerations to follow when setting goals, and how to motivate oneself toward altruism. Howard Roark is a character from Ayn Rand’s novel “The Fountainhead,” who advocates egoism as the highest moral value.

Of course, both of these concepts coexist quite well, and I won’t have to write tons of text about it, because Mikhail Pozharsky was recently so altruistic that he released a video about it. The engine of altruistic behavior is egoism. And the effective altruism movement is a pretty good confirmation of this. First, a person finds it insufficient to show off with luxury yachts and begins to spend on charity. Then it becomes crowded in this area, and he begins to show off that he spends on charity more effectively than others. You, allegedly, throw in mega-bucks without much point—you might as well have used them to light cigarettes—but I, spending ten times less, have actually helped a bunch of people with real problems; here is the proof, here is the methodological analysis, and here is where to send donations.

What else links effective altruism and Ayn Rand’s egoism is the conviction of many effective altruism adepts that for a successful person, for example, it is more effective not to volunteer personally, but to pay for the work of professionals, because he is more useful in his own position, where he earns the money to pay those very professionals. From here, it is literally one step to the idea that the best way to help people overall is the construction of a maximally free society, where everyone engages in what brings maximum benefit to others—simply because such behavior is best rewarded in a free market.

Effective altruists

What books would you recommend reading?

Anonymous question

Wow, you mean actual books? So video blogs, like SVTV , aren’t good enough? Telegram channels, like Pozharsky’s, aren’t good enough? Text columns, like Vladimir Zolotoryov’s, are also not what you’re looking for? Well, then you are a rare guest… And what kind of books? Fiction, journalism, popular science, treatises?

Well, let’s start with the heavy stuff. The most fundamental treatise, without a notion of which an educated person should simply be ashamed to call themselves such, is Mises’ “Human Action.” Long, detailed, clear, with a somewhat ponderous German style—it structures the brain perfectly. It’s also the best remedy for insomnia; take half a chapter before bed. I’ll add Rothbard’s “The Ethics of Liberty” to this—also long, also a bit dry, but interesting because it presents a slightly different approach to libertarianism than Mises. It’s like Plato and Aristotle: seemingly conflicting methodologies, but together they create an excellent stereo pair.
Want the same thing, but easier and more concise? Read Usanov’s “Science of Wealth,” a good, solid economic pop-science book with pictures.

In the fiction genre, the choice is not particularly large; the subject is just too specific. Usually, the heroes of fiction books are personalities, but we want something about society. It would be strange not to recommend such a famous writer of women’s novels as Ayn Rand. Feel free to read everything she wrote: the early works are more concise, the later ones more fundamental. Very potent stuff, but it must be followed up with economic treatises.

Also very good is Alexander Rozov’s Meganesian cycle. It’s a huge volume of text, but the necessary impression is formed after two or three books. It goes down well with tech-savvy boys. Also, don’t forget to follow up with treatises; overall, while a libertarian author, he has been noted for an uncritical perception of Marxism.

And from the classics—read the grandmaster of American sci-fi Robert Heinlein, “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.” A bit naive regarding artificial intelligence, but very interesting regarding the structure of society.