= 27d567bc2d48d9f40e9ccc20ea370b15)
DanielLC comments on So you say you're an altruist... - Less Wrong
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
= 783df68a0f980790206b9ea87794c5b6)
Loading…= b715d02e85f7b3b4ae65ca3d3e450868)
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Powered by Reddit
= f037147d6e6c911a85753b9abdedda8d)
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
Comments (106)
Implicit premise, that I haven't seen anyone point out:
It is assumed that while charity has a variable utility anywhere between 0 and X, selfish spending has a utility which is less than 0. This may be true in most cases, given that many people waste their money on disposable, consumerist garbage, but when considering somebody who spends frugally, their monetary utility will be in the positive sums (though arguably, less than any given charity).
He never said selfish spending has zero utility or less. He just implied it was less than charity. If you find a really good charity, it tends to be orders of magnitude better than keeping the money. For example, for $25 you could either see a couple of movies, or allow someone else to see the rest of their life. http://www.hollows.org/
There's nothing wrong with watching a movie. It's just not nearly as good as being able to see in general.