Think Globally, Act Globally

July 16th, 2012
ea
If poverty were distributed uniformly, "think globally, act locally" would be a reasonable approach. You know more about the conditions near you, altruistically helping people can combine with your own interest in a healthier community around you, and you can see the effects of your actions. But rich people live near other rich people. Your local community is likely income segregated, as is your region and your country. The poorest people around you are somewhat well off on a global scale. [1] Which means that if you "act locally" then those lucky enough to live near rich people get disproportionate assistance.

So: "Think Globally, Act Globally".

(Julia has two excellent pieces on the problems with giving locally: Our worst subjects and When is your help special?.)


[1] Assumed audience: USA. The 2011 federal poverty line income for one person is $11,170. Someone living on half that has an income of $5585, which is more money than 85% of the world's population lives on.

Comment via: google plus, facebook, r/smartgiving, substack

Recent posts on blogs I like:

Ozy and Vasili Review Lilo and Stitch

Sometimes my seven-year-old, Vasili, wants to see some godawful movie that makes me want to melt my eyeballs out of my head.

via Thing of Things June 27, 2025

Elixir's Last Dance

On May 18th, the contra dance band Elixir had their last gig ever. The dance was packed: there were three hundred people. It was the only dance BIDA has ever done where they sold tickets. People flew from across the country just to hear Elixir play one la…

via Lily Wise's Blog Posts June 5, 2025

Workshop House case study

Lauren Hoffman interviewed me about Workshop House and wrote this post about a community I’m working on building in DC.

via Home April 30, 2025

more     (via openring)