Scott Alexander argues that military interventions can potentially be a cost-effective way to help foreigners, contrary to a Slate article's claim. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques a Slate article arguing that military interventions are an expensive way to help foreigners. He argues that comparing interventions to GiveWell's top charities is flawed reasoning, and presents a cost-effectiveness analysis of the 2011 Libya intervention. Using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) as a metric, he calculates that the Libya intervention cost about $65 per QALY, which is slightly more cost-effective than donations to the Against Malaria Foundation at $75 per QALY. Scott emphasizes that both figures are extremely low compared to typical healthcare interventions. He concludes that military interventions can potentially be very cost-effective for humanitarian goals, though they come with risks and unpredictable consequences. Shorter summary