To put it into perspective, it makes little sense that we spend $1M (as a society) trying to save a 92-year-old when that same amount could have saved 10 teenagers.
I don’t think we actually do that, once you take into account how much we care about the individuals in question. That is, while I’m willing to believe that we’ll spend $1M on Grandpa rather than 10 teenage strangers, I’m not at all convinced we would make the same choice when it’s Grandpa versus 10 teenage family members in criticial condition. (And there’s no way we would if it were 10 teenage family members versus a 92-year-old stranger.)
What this complaint is really about, it seems to me, is that people spend their resources on people close to them rather than on others who “need” them more.
I don’t think we actually do that, once you take into account how much we care about the individuals in question. That is, while I’m willing to believe that we’ll spend $1M on Grandpa rather than 10 teenage strangers, I’m not at all convinced we would make the same choice when it’s Grandpa versus 10 teenage family members in criticial condition. (And there’s no way we would if it were 10 teenage family members versus a 92-year-old stranger.)
What this complaint is really about, it seems to me, is that people spend their resources on people close to them rather than on others who “need” them more.