Más allá del bienestar: una crítica estructural al altruismo eficaz animalista
Abstract
This article critically examines the application of effective altruism in the field of animal protection, with particular attention to its convergence with welfarist approaches. Drawing on a theoretical analysis that engages contemporary utilitarianism, abolitionism, relational ethics, and feminist perspectives, it argues that the emphasis on impact maximization and the quantifiable reduction of suffering may indirectly contribute to the legitimization of animal exploitation structures. The paper distinguishes between interventions aimed at harm reduction and those oriented toward structural transformation, suggesting that an ethics focused solely on welfare optimization is insufficient to address the conditions that make exploitation possible. Accordingly, it proposes the need for a critical animal ethics that incorporates considerations of interspecies justice, relations of domination, and the recognition of animals as subjects, shifting the focus from efficiency to the legitimacy of our practices.
References
ADAMS, C. J. The sexual politics of meat: A feminist-vegetarian critical theory. Continuum, 1990.
ADAMS, C. J. Feminist care traditions and the limits of effective altruism. En: A. Crary (Ed.), The good it promises, the harm it does: Critical essays on effective altruism. Oxford University Press, 2022.
ADAMS, C. J., & GRUEN, L. Future-oriented effective altruism (Coda). En: A. Crary (Ed.), The good it promises, the harm it does: Critical essays on effective altruism. Oxford University Press, 2022.
CALARCO, M. Thinking through animals: Identity, difference, indistinction. Stanford University Press, 2015.
CRARY, A. Inside ethics: On the demands of moral thought. Harvard University Press, 2016.
CRARY, A. Against effective altruism. En: A. Crary (Ed.), The good it promises, the harm it does: Critical essays on effective altruism. Oxford University Press, 2022.
FRANCIONE, G. L. Rain without thunder: The ideology of the animal rights movement. Temple University Press, 1996.
FRANCIONE, G. L. Animals as persons: Essays on the abolition of animal exploitation. Columbia University Press, 2008.
GRUEN, L. Entangled empathy: An alternative ethic for our relationships with animals. Lantern Books, 2015.
GRUEN, L. Entangled harms and the limits of effective altruism. En A. Crary (Ed.). The good it promises, the harm it does: Critical essays on effective altruism. Oxford University Press, 2022.
MACASKILL, W. Doing good better: How effective altruism can help you make a difference. Yale University Press, 2015.
OPEN Philanthropy. Animal welfare cost-effectiveness estimates, 2019. Disponível em: https://www.openphilanthropy.org.
SINGER, P. Famine, affluence, and morality. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 1(3), 229–243, 1972.
SINGER, P. Practical ethics. 3. ed. Cambridge University Press, 2011.








