Scott Alexander explores the challenges of utilitarianism when confronted with hidden or distant suffering, using examples like nursing homes and prisons to illustrate the ethical dilemma. Longer summary

This post discusses the ethical dilemma of utilitarianism when faced with 'bottomless pits of suffering' - situations where helping others would require significant sacrifices from those who are currently comfortable. Scott uses examples like medieval church spending, nursing homes, and prisons to illustrate how easy it is to ignore suffering that isn't immediately visible. He then relates this to philosophical problems in utilitarianism, such as utility monsters and Pascal's Wager. The post concludes by noting the difficulty in finding ethical frameworks that address these issues without completely ignoring hidden suffering. Shorter summary