Understanding Social Change

Social movements, movement strategy, effective altruism and other things related to making the world a better place.

The hottest Substack posts of Understanding Social Change

And their main takeaways

Effective Altruism: Not as bad as you think

314 implied HN points • 24 Nov 22
  1. Effective Altruism focuses on evidence and reason to do the most good.
  2. Critiques of EA often miss its impact, like saving lives and helping the global poor.
  3. EA community members are actively involved in a variety of altruistic projects, making a positive difference.

Tensions between different approaches to doing good

117 implied HN points • 18 Mar 23
📖 Philosophy Ethics Critical Thinking Values
  1. There are tensions between different approaches to doing good, like quantifying everything or embracing complexity.
  2. Quantifying impact is important to support evidence-based organizations for maximum effectiveness.
  3. However, focusing solely on quantifiable measures may overlook important indirect benefits, leading to a need for a balance between quantifiable and unquantifiable impacts.

Theories of Change for the animal advocacy movement

78 implied HN points • 09 Feb 22
  1. Consider pursuing a variety of theories of change in animal advocacy for a greater chance of success.
  2. Encourage collaboration and support within the animal advocacy movement rather than competition.
  3. Support research, grantmaking, divestment advocacy, and policy focus to create a pluralistic animal movement with diverse strategies.

Some thoughts on recent Effective Altruism funding announcements

58 implied HN points • 03 Mar 22
  1. The funding landscape is shifting towards more focus on long-term opportunities.
  2. Grantmaking capacity needs to increase significantly to handle the growing funding in Effective Altruism.
  3. The EA movement may need to navigate shifting from marginal thinking to more complex coordination dynamics with the increase in funding.
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How effective are protests? Some research and some nuance

19 implied HN points • 27 Apr 22
  1. Protests can be more effective than charities in some cases.
  2. Supporting protest movements can have significant impacts on various outcomes.
  3. Non-violent protests tend to be more effective, and factors like unity and numbers play key roles in protest success.

Coming soon

19 implied HN points • 04 Nov 21
  1. Newsletter about social change, movement strategies, and more
  2. Includes good news and unanswered questions
  3. Bi-weekly updates to come, stay tuned