The positive consequences of investing $1 in a particular company don’t have to be anywhere close to as good as the positive consequences of donating $1 in order for the investment to be more cost effective, because investments generate returns, so the cost of changing your investment behavior is no where near the amount you spend on the investments. For example, if investing in company A or company B has the same expected payoff for you, but investing in company A instead of B has positive externalities, then you can do good for free by investing in A instead of choosing one randomly. I don’t have any actual examples where I believe this to be the case. I was criticizing your argument, not your conclusion, which BenGilbert has defended fairly persuasively with other arguments.
The positive consequences of investing $1 in a particular company don’t have to be anywhere close to as good as the positive consequences of donating $1 in order for the investment to be more cost effective, because investments generate returns, so the cost of changing your investment behavior is no where near the amount you spend on the investments. For example, if investing in company A or company B has the same expected payoff for you, but investing in company A instead of B has positive externalities, then you can do good for free by investing in A instead of choosing one randomly. I don’t have any actual examples where I believe this to be the case. I was criticizing your argument, not your conclusion, which BenGilbert has defended fairly persuasively with other arguments.