Doing Good Better: Effective Altruism and a Radical New Way to Make a Difference

by William MacAskill

Earning to give means exactly what it sounds like: rather than trying to maximise the good you do directly via your job, you instead try to increase your earnings so you can donate more, improving people’s lives through your giving rather than your day-to-day work. Most people don’t consider this option when choosing a career that ‘makes a difference’. But time and money are usually interchangeable – money can pay for people’s time, and your time can be used to earn money – so there’s no reason to assume the best careers are only those that benefit people directly through the work itself. If we’re serious about doing good, earning to give is a path we should consider. Let’s look at Greg Lewis’s options. If he worked as a doctor in a rich country and didn’t donate a portion of his income, he would do an amount of good equivalent to saving two lives over the course of his career. If he went to work as a doctor in a very poor country, he would do an amount of good equivalent to saving four lives every year, or 140 lives over a thirty-five year career. But how many lives could he save if he stayed home and donated his earnings?