Scott Alexander examines the paradox of economic growth not increasing happiness in developing countries, questioning the moral implications for global development efforts. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the paradox that economic growth in developing countries like China doesn't seem to increase happiness, despite lifting millions out of poverty. He explores the implications of this for utilitarianism and effective altruism, questioning whether efforts to boost national development are truly beneficial if they don't increase happiness. The post examines various explanations and potential responses to this dilemma, including abandoning consequentialism, redefining happiness, or focusing on preference utilitarianism. Ultimately, Scott expresses discomfort with all these options and acknowledges the perplexing nature of happiness research. Shorter summary

Scott shares and comments on various links covering topics like startups, science, academia, social issues and charitable giving, with a focus on rationalist and effective altruist causes. Longer summary

This is a links post collecting various interesting articles and news from around the internet. Topics include a startup betting on marriage success, privacy/encryption history, climate change policy, scientific studies on aging and obesity, academic criticism, college renaming controversies, drug use surveys, and charitable giving. The post has Scott's typical style of briefly summarizing each link while adding his own commentary and connections between topics. The post ends with several charitable giving opportunities related to rationalist and effective altruist organizations. Shorter summary