[aetherson]

The idea that there's a big demand for a fig leaf that excuses getting rich strikes me as extremely wrong. I don't think that there are a significant number of people in the world who are like, "I'm all set to get rich, except oh no I need to find some excuse for getting rich otherwise someone will be mean to me and I can't deal with that, oh thank god, it's Effective Altruism, now I can get rich."

To a first approximation, everyone on this site regularly participates in threads talking about how to maximize their compensation, without anyone feeling a particular need for a fig leaf.

[gregw134]

On the other hand, there are plenty of people ready to look down on you if your goal is to make money.

[aetherson]

My experience is that the number of people who even ask for your justification for increasing your income or wealth is approximately zero. Like I do not think I have ever once in my life had someone say any variation on, "But why would you want to make more money?" And, to be clear, I'm pretty wealthy and am well past the point where, like, there's an obvious necessity for more money. I'm not a subsistence farmer is what I'm saying.

If someone does hassle you about your justifications for your wealth, it seems really easy to write that off as jealousy.

I am sure that somewhere in the world, there is someone so simultaneously ambitious yet wracked with guilt about their ambition that they need an excuse to satisfy their ambition. I just doubt that there are enough such people that Effective Altruism can use such people as a foundation for its existence.

[tacker2000]

So what? Everyone should do it for there own reasons and not care.

Is there anything bad about wanting to be wealthy or having power? I dont think so.

I think the actual problem is when you are already rich enougg and still want more and more.

That is the cancer that is ruining our society.