93 ms·
What I find most amazing is when bright Ivy League graduates go and do manual labour, like building a school, in a poor country with massive unemployment. It's
by willmacaskill 11y ago
What I find most amazing is when bright Ivy League graduates go and do manual labour, like building a school, in a poor country with massive unemployment. It's not exactly playing to comparative advantage.
- maaku 11y agoHuman beings are not absolutely focused, money-seeking, rational economic actors.
- Frondo 11y agoThank the heavens for that.
- nashashmi 11y agoThat's pretty much how they become brighter. These kinds of hands-on experience are far more transformative and contribute to higher efficiency than if they were to simply donate more money.
- dublinben 11y agoAt least they could acknowledge that they're going abroad to help themselves, rather than the beneficiaries of their "charity."
- mod 11y agoNothing is altruistic. I'm not sure why you're picking on these guys in particular.
- dublinben 11y agoI'm not "picking on" anyone. I'm just reflecting that it would be refreshing if the subjects of this discussion would express some self-awareness. It's hardly surprising that they aren't.
- mod 11y agoI've found that most people who help others readily admit that they do it because it makes them feel good. Maybe my anecdote goes against the norm?
- willmacaskill 11y agoI agree volunteering abroad can be a great way to experience first-hand some of the problems in the world, which can lead you to do much more in your life than you would otherwise. I did it as a student and it was important in my life. But that's to say it should be a means to having a real impact later on, rather than an end in itself.