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Not all lives are equal

posted by smallpond on Whatever

On average COVID 19 kills people just a few years below their natural life expectancy, at about age 80. They are basically on the way out. Their quality of life and productivity is not the same as a 20 year-old, and the potential years of life lost for them is minimal. Most of them have lived full lives during the decadent and destructive peak of human civilization - I expect that the life-expectancy and quality of life of children today will be much worse, as the world becomes unstable due to climate change, overpopulation and resource shortages.

Investing billions in keeping these lucky pensioners alive for a couple more years is unfair because it is the younger generations who pay for it, with damage to their future careers at crucial moments of development, with damage to their mental health, and by loading them with enormous national debts.

COVID 19 has shown that we can spend (borrow) huge amounts of money as nations. That money should be spent on the future public good, investing in national preparations for the hell on earth that humanity is creating with climate change and biodiversity collapse. It should not be wasted on prolonging the lives of those who, on average, are soon to die anyway. It's another example of older generations stealing from and ruining the lives of younger generations who cannot defend themselves.

The death of an 80 year-old is not worth ruining the future livelihood of a 20 year-old. The death of a 40 year-old through suicide is more serious than the deaths of several 80 year-olds. These other, more serious aspects of human waste and suffering are unthinkingly ignored by society, and actively exacerbated by the politicized first-world response to the pandemic.

On average COVID 19 kills people just a few years below their natural life expectancy, at about age 80. They are basically on the way out. Their quality of life and productivity is not the same as a 20 year-old, and the potential years of life lost for them is minimal. Most of them have lived full lives during the decadent and destructive peak of human civilization - I expect that the life-expectancy and quality of life of children today will be much worse, as the world becomes unstable due to climate change, overpopulation and resource shortages. Investing billions in keeping these lucky pensioners alive for a couple more years is unfair because it is the younger generations who pay for it, with damage to their future careers at crucial moments of development, with damage to their mental health, and by loading them with enormous national debts. COVID 19 has shown that we can spend (borrow) huge amounts of money as nations. That money should be spent on the future public good, investing in national preparations for the hell on earth that humanity is creating with climate change and biodiversity collapse. It should not be wasted on prolonging the lives of those who, on average, are soon to die anyway. It's another example of older generations stealing from and ruining the lives of younger generations who cannot defend themselves. The death of an 80 year-old is not worth ruining the future livelihood of a 20 year-old. The death of a 40 year-old through suicide is more serious than the deaths of several 80 year-olds. These other, more serious aspects of human waste and suffering are unthinkingly ignored by society, and actively exacerbated by the politicized first-world response to the pandemic.

15 comments

[–] Mattvision 1 points (+1|-0)

but it just means that you're opting out of contributing to decisions that must be made.

That's part of what makes this slope so slippery. You might think your ends justify your means here, but so have people before you and so will people after you if we allow this kind of way of thinking to prevail again. Today, in pre-climate catastrophe coronaworld, it might be old people. But who will it be tomorrow?

Especially if we're charging head-first into a near apocalypse, we can't allow ourselves to succumb to barbaric ways of thinking. Progressive attitudes and a general value for all human life may be all our descendents have, and we can't go deliberately ruining that like we've ruined almost everything else for them.

[–] smallpond [OP] 0 points (+1|-1)

Again, those decisions have to be made. If we made you emperor and somehow you could not delegate responsibility - you would make them.

It's not about the ends justifying the means, it's just that there is no alternative.

Society currently kills and hurts people on a whim in a ridiculous number of ways. Freedom of movement versus the road toll, ignoring all the brown people starving in distant nations as a direct result of our actions, mental health versus aged care versus economic tough love, versus humane prisons. You might run the world differently if put in charge, but that's not the point, whatever decisions you made, even if you refuse to do anything, will result in some dying and others living. Whatever you do, your ends will justify your means.