“5 Historical Case Studies for an EA in Decline” by JWS 🔸

Introduction

Before November 2022, Effective Altruism only seemed to know success and growth. Ever since November 2022, the EA movement has only seemed to know criticism and scandal. Some have even gone so far to declare that EA is dead or dying,[1] or no longer worth standing behind,[2] or otherwise disassociate themselves from the movement even if outside observers would clearly identify them as being 'EA'.[3] This negative environment that EA finds itself in is, I think, indicative of its state as a social movement in decline.

I was reflecting on this state of affairs, and thinking about what the prospects for recovery for EA as a movement are, and thought that looking at the historical record for comparable case studies might prove enlightening, and provide an interesting perspective to understand the current tribulations EA is facing. This post is the result of that inquiry.

Method

To be open [...]

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Outline:

(00:11) Introduction

(01:07) Method

(04:42) Edits

(04:59) The Case Studies

(05:02) #1 - New Atheism

(08:19) #2 - Saint-Simonianism

(11:07) #3 - The Technocracy Movement

(15:30) #4 - Moral Re-Armament / Buchmanism

(19:07) #5 - Early Quakerism

(22:28) Honourable Mentions

(26:57) Takeaways and Conclusions

(29:55) A Final Note on Historical Violence and its Modern-Day Relevance

The original text contained 17 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:

May 7th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/uEWZxbLaT2MpuC5BR/5-historical-case-studies-for-an-ea-in-decline

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.