How Effective Altruism Can Help You Make a Difference – Book Review

In his book Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Make a Difference.

William Mac A skill has perfectly penned down the ultra-dark realities of life. He says that everyone has a price to pay, from the very poor to the very rich. It is how the world works. The Lincoln College, Oxford, Associate Professor of Philosophy, William MacAskill highlights the importance of charity organization. And he discusses how the charities are reaching the people who are in dire need for it. Every penny counts, whether it's the loose change in our pockets or the ones stored in piggy banks, every coin can make a difference.

The Writer - William MacAskill

William MacAskill is the co-founder of two non-profit organizations 80,000 Hours and Giving What We Can. The organization encourages people to give ten-percent of their salaries to charities. Through such organizations, MacAskill started the Effective Altruism movement. In his book, he uses scientific reasoning to make people understand about giving, how a small gesture can change someone's life.

Effective Altruism

It's about helping the needy in every possible manner. The theory uses analysis and evidence to reach out to the people to motivate them to give. Everyone can make a difference in someone's life, especially a needy person's life regarding money. There are thousands of charitable organisations, but only a handful is effective. People donate to charities, but they don't know the motive of the charity organizations. They don't know whether their money is actually reaching a person in need or not. Moreover, out of the millions of people who donate, only a few actually try to find out if they have made a difference or not. People are so lost in their fast paced lives they don't even get time to see the charity label of the organization they are helping out. They just bend, put the dollar or coins and move on!

MacAskill in his book Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Make a Difference urges people - earn to give. This way maximum a person can contribute a huge amount of money such as half of their annual or monthly salary. An effective difference is made. There is also a philosophical approach to this. It uses evidence-based reasoning to work out effective ways to make the world a better place. Through such approach, a number of organizations such as MacAskill's want to make lives of the poor, better. In today's world effective altruism is new and robust philanthropy. It looks into making use of the available resources to its maximum, and how people can navigate their energy, wealth and skills to better someone else's life. The principle uses economic, social and political evidence. Effective altruism can be used as a manual or a practical guide. People and business houses involved in this movement are realists. They take the world at its face value. They are very much aware of the problems and struggles around them, and they want to make a difference. It cannot be done alone. This needs a collective approach and most importantly, financially.

Overall, it's about doing the best. People can do this by obeying simple rules such as no killing, no stealing, and not hurting others, etc. They have to be good, law-abiding citizens. Breaking rules take tolls on others. For example, if a group of burglars break into an average family's house and makes away with the cash and valuables, they are leaving the family in the dark. The family may be going through a tough financial phase. They may be saving up for their child's college. The burglars got away with everything and there left the child's future hanging midway. Maybe the child won't be able to make it to college and have to get a part-time job to assist his family's financial situation. One never knows what impact their lawbreaking may have on the other. People should focus on the good and find ways to help out the poor and the needy. They need to make a difference for children who aren't able to go to school, assist families who need necessities of life, help men struggling to put decent meals on the table for their wife and children, help the sick by providing basic health care and medicines. There's so much to be done. People and non-profit groups should make their intentions right and give a helping hand. Everyone needs to do their part. Everyone should look out for the other. 

