What we talk about when we talk about community building

By James Herbert @ 2023-06-27T17:17 (+41)

These are my views, they are not necessarily the views of Effective Altruism Netherlands. Thanks to those people who provided comments on a draft of this post. 

Summary

In this post I introduce a set of terms that could be useful for discussing EA community building strategy. 

I  take as a starting point the claim that broadly speaking, effective altruism is an attempt at social change. 

There are four different approaches to social change: Social Movement Support, Field Building, Network Development, and Promoting the Uptake of Practices by Organizations. The post illustrates these approaches using different historical examples:

• The Civil Rights Movement mainly used Social Movement Support
• The field of Public Health primarily focused on Field Building
• The United Nations emphasized Network Development
• The Fair Trade movement concentrated on Promoting the Uptake of Practices by Organizations

I  then take a stab at describing EA’s current approach. Something like: Field Building (40%), Network Development (35%), Movement Support (20%), and Promoting the Uptake of Practices by Organizations (5%).

I also suggest a re-balancing: Field Building (50%), Movement Support (25%), Network Development (15%), and Promoting the Uptake of Practices by Organizations (10%). This shift would make EA more engaged with society and more focused on its core mission, while spending less time in its own bubble.

Finally, I have a few questions for you, the reader:

1. Do you agree that, broadly speaking, EA is an attempt to bring about social change? 
2. Is there something missing from the set of social change approaches I’ve described?
3. What do you think EA’s current social change portfolio is?
4. What do you think it ought to be? 
5. How should we inform the above decision? Historical case studies? Something else?

Introduction

Effective altruism has been called many things. MacAskill defines it as follows:

(i) the use of evidence and careful reasoning to work out how to maximize the good with a given unit of resources, tentatively understanding ‘the good’ in impartial welfarist terms, and

(ii) the use of the findings from (i) to try to improve the world.

(i) refers to effective altruism as an intellectual project (or ‘research field’); (ii) refers to effective altruism as a practical project (or ‘social movement’).

CEA's outward-facing website (effectivealtruism.org) uses a similar definition: “Effective altruism is a research field and practical community that aims to find the best ways to help others, and put them into practice”. Wikipedia also: “Effective altruism is a philosophical and social movement that advocates ‘using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible, and taking action on that basis’”.

I think these definitions are broadly correct. However, to speak in more abstract terms, I think EA is an attempt to bring about social change. By social change I mean the not-insignificant alteration of society. For example, changes in social institutions, social behaviours, or social relations. Examples of other attempts at social change include: building the field of public health, the fair trade movement, the civil rights movement, and the development of the UN.

Following MacAskill’s definition, the social change that EA is aiming for is something like: building effective altruism as a research field and helping people use its findings when making decisions about their donations, careers, etc. The assumption being that, by doing this, you’re pursuing one of the most effective strategies for doing good and, in the words of CEA, you’re helping to build a radically better world, a world in which humanity has solved a range of pressing global problems — like global poverty, factory farming, and existential risk — and is prepared to face the challenges of tomorrow.

However, there are many different approaches to bringing about social change, and I don’t think we know which (mixture) of these we ought to be employing. 

One view is as follows, expressed recently by MacAskill: “On this broad view, what EA should aspire to be is not a club, a social movement, an identity, or an alliance of specific causes. And it should only be a community or a professional network in a broad sense. Instead, it should aspire to be more like a field — like the fields of philosophy, or medicine, or economics."

This would be quite a big change. MacAskill's original definition describes EA both as a field and a movement, as does the Wikipedia definition, and recent big pieces in TIME and The New Yorker mostly describe it as a movement.

I think it’s important we figure this out because it has significant implications for our community-building efforts. 

Hopefully, this post can help us by providing a shared vocabulary for those interested in EA strategising. 

Four approaches to social change

According to this briefing, there are four different approaches to social change. It isn’t a perfect list, and there’s a lot of fuzziness and overlap, but I think it’s a start. The approaches are as follows:

• Social movement support
• Field building
• Network development
• Promoting the uptake of practices by organisations 

These are all quite blurry and, in reality, it’s unlikely a process will adopt just one of these approaches exclusively. 

To make things more concrete, below I have written about several historical social change processes and have given a subjective description of how they allocated their ‘social change portfolio’. In other words, how much of their efforts they assigned to each of the above approaches. 

An approach to social change focused on supporting movements: the civil rights movement

This movement, which took place primarily during the 1950s and 1960s, aimed to end racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans and to secure legal recognition and federal protection of the citizenship rights enumerated in the Constitution and federal law.

Here's a subjective breakdown of the Civil Rights Movement's social change portfolio:

• Movement Support (60%): The Civil Rights Movement relied heavily on mass protests, civil disobedience, and grassroots organizing to rally public support and pressure the government to change laws and policies. Key events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, and the Selma to Montgomery marches were pivotal in mobilizing support for the movement.
• Field Building (20%): The movement did work to build a field of civil rights law and advocacy, but this was not its primary focus. The emphasis was more on direct action and public demonstration.
• Network Development (10%): The movement involved the development of networks of civil rights organizations, activists, and supportive politicians and celebrities. However, compared to the direct action and public demonstration, this was a smaller component of the movement's strategy.
• Promoting the Uptake of Practices by Organizations (10%): The movement did work to promote the uptake of non-discriminatory practices by organizations, but this was not its primary focus. 

In this case, the emphasis was on mobilizing public support and direct action to achieve social change, rather than on building a field of knowledge or changing organizational practices. This reflects the Civil Rights Movement's focus on leveraging the power of the people to bring about change.

An approach to social change focused on building fields: public health

Public Health as a field aims to improve the health of communities and populations through the promotion of healthy lifestyles, research for disease and injury prevention, and the detection and control of infectious diseases.

Here's a subjective breakdown of the Public Health field's social change portfolio:

• Movement Support (10%): While there is some element of public advocacy and awareness-raising in Public Health, the primary drivers are health professionals, researchers, and policy makers, not mass public support.
• Field Building (60%): The creation and development of Public Health as a field involves building a body of knowledge and practice around population health and disease prevention. This includes developing methods for epidemiology, biostatistics, health services, and health policy. It also involves training professionals in these methods and advocating for the integration of this knowledge into policy and practice.
• Network Development (20%): A significant focus of Public Health is on developing a network of professionals and organizations committed to improving population health. This includes public health departments, research institutions, and health care providers.
• Promoting the Uptake of Practices by Organizations (10%): While Public Health does work to promote the uptake of certain practices by organizations (such as disease surveillance and prevention programs), this is not its primary focus. The emphasis is more on building a field of knowledge and practice that can inform a wide range of policies and interventions.

In this case, the emphasis was on building a field of knowledge and practice to improve population health, rather than on mobilizing public support or directly changing organizational practices. This reflects Public Health's focus on leveraging scientific research and professional expertise to address health challenges.

An approach to social change focused on developing networks: establishing the UN

The UN was intentionally created by international leaders after World War II with the aim of promoting peace, security, and cooperation among nations.

Here's a subjective breakdown of the social change process that led to the creation of the UN:

• Movement Support (10%): While there was some public advocacy and awareness-raising around the creation of the UN, the primary drivers were political leaders and diplomats, not mass public support.
• Field Building (20%): The creation of the UN did involve building a new field of international law and diplomacy, including the development of principles and norms for international relations, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Network Development (60%): A significant focus of the UN's creation was on developing a network of nations committed to peace, security, and cooperation. This includes the establishment of various UN bodies and agencies to facilitate cooperation on issues ranging from health and education to peacekeeping and economic development.
• Promoting the Uptake of Practices by Organizations (10%): While the UN does work to promote the uptake of certain practices by its member states (such as respect for human rights and peaceful resolution of disputes), this is not its primary focus. The emphasis is more on fostering cooperation and dialogue among nations.

In this case, the emphasis was on building a network of nations and facilitating cooperation among them, rather than on mobilizing public support or directly changing organizational practices. This reflects the UN's focus on leveraging the collective resources and influence of its member states to address global challenges.

An approach to social change focused on promoting the uptake of practices by organisations: fair trade

The Fair Trade movement aims to achieve better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of higher prices to exporters, as well as improved social and environmental standards.

Here's a subjective breakdown of the Fair Trade movement's social change portfolio:

• Movement Support (20%): While there is some element of public advocacy and awareness-raising in the Fair Trade movement, the primary focus is not on mobilizing mass public support but rather on changing business practices.
• Field Building (20%): The Fair Trade movement does involve building a field of knowledge and practice around ethical and sustainable trade. This includes developing standards and certifications for Fair Trade products and conducting research on the impacts and benefits of Fair Trade.
• Network Development (20%): A significant focus of the Fair Trade movement is on developing networks of businesses, non-profit organizations, and activists involved in promoting and implementing Fair Trade. This includes organizations like Fairtrade International, which certifies Fair Trade products and promotes the Fair Trade movement globally.
• Promoting the Uptake of Practices by Organizations (40%): A major focus of the Fair Trade movement is on promoting the uptake of Fair Trade practices by businesses. This includes encouraging businesses to source Fair Trade products, to pay fair prices to producers, and to adhere to social and environmental standards in their supply chains.

In this case, the emphasis was on changing business practices to promote fairness and sustainability, rather than on mobilizing public support or building a broader social movement. This reflects the Fair Trade movement's focus on leveraging the resources and influence of the business sector to achieve social and environmental goals.

How I would describe EA’s current approach to social change

Based on little more than vibes (and running EA Netherlands for just over a year), I think EA’s current portfolio looks something like the following:

• Movement Support 20%: The EA movement relies on public support, but it's not a mass movement in the traditional sense. It's more about influencing individuals to make more effective altruistic decisions, such as choosing careers where they can have a significant positive impact, or donating to charities that provide the most benefit per dollar.
• Field Building 40%: A significant part of the EA movement involves building the field of effective altruism itself. This includes developing and refining the principles and methods of EA, conducting research to identify the most effective causes and interventions, and promoting a culture of critical thinking and rigorous evaluation in altruism.
• Network Development 35%: The EA movement involves developing networks of effective altruists, including researchers, philanthropists, charity entrepreneurs, and others who are committed to the principles of EA. These networks help to disseminate ideas, share research, and coordinate efforts.
• Promoting the Uptake of Practices by Organisations 5%: The EA movement works to promote the uptake of effective altruistic practices by organizations. This includes encouraging charities to evaluate and improve their effectiveness, and influencing philanthropists and grant-making institutions to consider cause prioritisation and cost-effectiveness in their giving. It also includes encouraging organisations such as governments to adopt policies that have been developed through rigorous cause prioritisation and cost-effectiveness analysis, e.g., the work of LEEP.

What I think EA’s approach to social change ought to be

I think EA’s current portfolio is quite close to what I would like it to be. However, my loosely held view is that more ought to be spent on field building, movement support, and promoting the uptake of practices by organisations. This would mean spending less on network development. This might look something like the following:

• Movement Support: 25% 
• Field Building: 50%
• Network Development: 15%
• Promoting the Uptake of Practices by Organizations: 10%

The result would be a slightly more outward-facing movement, one that spends more time talking to and working with the rest of society to achieve shared objectives, more time focused on its core (field building), and less time spent talking to itself (network development). 

Questions for the reader

1. Do you agree that broadly speaking, EA is an attempt to bring about social change? 
2. Is there something missing from the list of social change approaches I’ve described?
3. What do you think EA’s current social change portfolio is?
4. What do you think it ought to be? 
5. How should we inform the above decision? Historical case studies? Something else?