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Combining these two considerations, we arrive at the conclusion that the most effective way to cut animal suffering out of your diet is to stop eating chicken, then eggs, then pork: by doing so, you’re taking out the worst suffering for the most animals for the longest time.
What happened? People who had previously purchased a ‘green’ product were significantly more likely to both lie and steal than those who had purchased the conventional product. Their demonstration of ethical behaviour subconsciously gave them licence to act unethically when the chance arose.
Moral licensing shows that people are often more concerned about looking good or feeling good rather than actually doing good. If you ‘do your bit’ by buying an energy-efficient light bulb, your status as a good human being is less likely to be called into question if you subsequently steal a small amount of money.
In this chapter we’ve seen that the benefits of ethical consumerism are often small compared to the good that well-targeted donations can do. In the next chapter we’ll look at an area where you really can make an astonishing difference: your career.
suggests that following your passion is a poor way to determine whether a given career path will make you happy. Rather, passion grows out of work that has the right features.
Improvements in technology are reducing demand for clerks and secretaries. In general, jobs that require social skills (like public relations), creativity (like fashion design), or precise perception and manipulation (like boiler making) are the least likely to become automated. Jobs that require physical proximity or high levels of training are also unlikely to be outsourced.
Several economists have estimated that the total economic gains from free mobility of labour across borders would be greater than a 50% increase in world GDP.
We might not get books or films written about us, but we can each do an astonishing amount of good, just as Schindler did.
