Rating: 5/5
Doing Good Better by William MacAskill details the effective altruism movement, essentially how individuals can apply their time, talents, and money to do the most good in the world. MacAskill breaks down specific questions individuals can ask when donation time or money to determine if this is the best cause for their efforts. I thought the book was extremely eye opening and provided a different outlook on common philanthropic efforts like fair trade coffee and sweatshop work.
For my own personal reference later on, the five questions William encourages everyone to ask are:
- How many people benefit, and by how much?
- Is this the most effective thing you can do?
- Is this area neglected?
- What would have happened otherwise?
- What are the chances of success, and how good would success be?
I also appreciated this quote on the American Cancer Society:
The American Cancer Society spends 43 percent of its program expenses on patient support, 21 percent on prevention, 14 percent on detection/treatment, and just 22 percent on research.