# Doing Good Better: Effective Altruism and a Radical New Way to Make a Difference

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/books/good-better-effective-altruism-radical-new-way-make-difference/
- Published: 2016-03-18T13:57:28+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**A book about how to really make a difference, from a co-founder of the effective
altruism movement.** **All of the author’s profits will be donated “to some of the
world’s most effective charities”.**

Most of us want to make a difference. We see suffering, injustice and death, and
are moved to do something about them. But working out what that ‘something’ is, 
let alone actually doing it, can be a difficult and disheartening challenge.

Effective altruism is a response to this challenge. It is a research field which
uses high-quality evidence and careful reasoning to work out how to help others 
as much as possible. It is also a community of people taking these answers seriously,
by focusing their efforts on the most promising solutions to the world’s most pressing
problems.

## Effective altruism

Effective altruism is about doing good better. It is a philosophy and social movement
focused on answering one question: How can we best help others? Our resources are
limited, so we have to use them wisely.

Effective altruism is the project of:

 1. Using evidence and reason to find the most promising causes to work on.
 2. Taking action, by using our time and money to do the most good we can.

## Resources

Find [resources on effective altruism](https://www.effectivealtruism.org/resources/),
including a free online course.

## Reviews

> Doing Good Better is a superb achievement. Will MacAskill, a leader of the effective
> altruism movement, and a rising star in philosophy, now displays his talent for
> telling stories that pack a punch. This must-read book will lead people to change
> their careers, their lives, and the world, for the better.

**Peter Singer**

> Effective altruism — efforts that actually help people rather than making you 
> feel good or helping you show off — is one of the great new ideas of the 21st 
> century. Doing Good Better is the definitive guide to this exciting new movement.

**Steven Pinker**
Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University,
author of ‘The Better Angels of Our Nature’

 * **See also [Giving Back: How to Do Good, Better](https://fundraising.co.uk/books/giving-back-how-to-do-good-better/)
   by Derek A Bardowell (2022)**