Getting rich in order to give to the poor? The jury’s out, but it seems morally shaky | Kenan Malik

Trial of philanthropic crypto poster boy Sam Bankman-Fried exposes the flaws in a philosophy that negates the need for social change

Few people think of finance as an ethical career choice," William MacAskill observes. But they should. By making as much money as we can and donating to the best causes," he argues, we can each save hundreds of lives."

MacAskill is an Oxford philosopher and one of the founders of effective altruism", or EA, a movement that seeks to persuade people both to donate a large share of their income to charity - MacAskill says he lives on 26,000 a year, giving away the rest of his professorial income - and to ensure that donations are used in the most effective way.

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