Effective Altruism: Charlie Bresler, PhD, on How to Amplify Your Impact
Extreme poverty has devastating effects on over 700 million people globally. Every year 5.3 million children, under the age of five, die, and more than half of these deaths could have been easily prevented if they would have been fortunate enough to have been born in the United States. Peter Singer has famously noted that “we have an ethical obligation to use some portion of our wealth and privilege to save lives and reduce the unnecessary suffering associated with extreme poverty—defined as living on less than $1.25 USD/day.” Almost a decade ago, Charlie Bresler became volunteer Executive Director and co-founder of The Life You Can Save, a non-profit dedicated to reducing extreme poverty. Through his financial support and leadership, Charlie has helped Peter Singer, develop the organization from the ground up. The Life You Can Save’s mission is to inspire more people to give effectively and end world poverty. And Charlie has famously said that it’s a privilege, not just a responsibility to save lives, reduce suffering, and empower livelihoods. The “amplification” of how much further a dollar goes in impoverished countries is the perspective Singer and Charlie suggest should affect our giving decisions. The effective altruism movement has reignited thinking how much we should give and where. “What greater motivation can there be than doing whatever one possibly can to reduce pain and suffering?” Charlie is a heroic figure that lives his ethos and life in full, and in the service of others.