To help the least advantaged, is it enough to vote against public policies that seem unjust, or should individuals also give from their own pockets to charities even if they can only help a few people at a time? Brian Berkey, Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics, believes giving from one’s funds to help others is a moral obligation — and folks should channel their money toward the most effective charities. Berkey says critics of this approach would rather attack an unjust institution or system to fix the root cause of the social malaise. But he says they are misguided, in part because it is difficult for their efforts to succeed. Shouldn’t a doctor still treat a wounded soldier on a battlefield instead of just protesting against the war? Berkey spoke to Knowledge at Wharton to discuss his reasoning in the paper, “ The Institutional Critique of Effective Altruism .” An edited transcript of the conversation follows.…