Yeah, I didn't mean to downplay how hard it is to apply the utilitarian calculus or even to suppose that the bare doctrine of utilitarianism resolves questions about what the ultimate good we should be trying to maximize is. I basically agree that utilitarianism is not a complete recipe for how to live. I just think that it probably gives the correct answer in cases where we can see clearly how to apply it because I'm skeptical of theories like Anscombe's. Which is to say that utilitarianism is a big tent.

Now if we look at EA, the basic tenet of EA seems obvious -- basically just utilitarianism. And from what I've seen, in practice also, EA is a pretty big tent. I don't know the specifics of SBF's case, but I think essentially no one thinks that he acted correctly. I don't know how many mosquito nets he bought, but I agree that if he bought enough, it might be that he net raised utility, and if that is so, it's something to be thankful for. But it doesn't make him some kind of utilitarian saint unless he couldn't have done even more good by some other course of action that wouldn't have hurt the ponzi scheme victims and brought opprobrium on the whole EA movement