It’s a fair question. It can hypothetically happen, no matter how rich technology makes you, that resources are effectively scarce in that moment (you desire to produce copies of yourself at a nearly infinite rate, or breed w/ legions of artificial wombs).
To rephrase old vs. young, you could ask: who deserves to exist—those who already exist, or those who might be created anew? Precedent (and conflict avoidance) favors the incumbent, but an extremist utilitarian coalition or singleton might have the power to disregard that. Say that we rule against the old (the average lifespan is finite by decree); you still have to decide which new lives to create. The question you pose is relevant to life extension, but not limited to it.
I guess I think that arguments over who ought to exist are just a distant curiosity (of course it’s easy to imagine a future where they’re actually used to make decisions; but for now they’re just for fun). I’m also interested in the slight generalization: ought anti-wealth-concentration mechanisms (e.g. taxes) block the possibility (or maybe just the frequency of) long-lived winners, if everybody can’t live to 100 million years? I propose that the right to create offspring or duplicates, and the right to live longer than normal yourself, should come from the same ration. It’s easy to imagine this as money, but I suppose just as slavery is prohibited, you could prohibit trading of the right to other families/entities.
I propose that the right to create offspring or duplicates, and the right to live longer than normal yourself, should come from the same ration. It’s easy to imagine this as money, but I suppose just as slavery is prohibited, you could prohibit trading of the right to other families/entities.
Maybe I’m missing something, but I see no reason to place such restrictions. A “ration coupon” for reproduction only comes into existence when someone dies or moves off-planet or moves away from this space-station or whatever. The deceased or departed or lucky lottery winner should have the right to pass on the “coupon” to whomever he/she chooses for whatever compensation is mutually agreed. Same goes for the heir.
Hmmm. Maybe you are right. It might not be a good idea to have a futures market on those things.
It’s a fair question. It can hypothetically happen, no matter how rich technology makes you, that resources are effectively scarce in that moment (you desire to produce copies of yourself at a nearly infinite rate, or breed w/ legions of artificial wombs).
To rephrase old vs. young, you could ask: who deserves to exist—those who already exist, or those who might be created anew? Precedent (and conflict avoidance) favors the incumbent, but an extremist utilitarian coalition or singleton might have the power to disregard that. Say that we rule against the old (the average lifespan is finite by decree); you still have to decide which new lives to create. The question you pose is relevant to life extension, but not limited to it.
I guess I think that arguments over who ought to exist are just a distant curiosity (of course it’s easy to imagine a future where they’re actually used to make decisions; but for now they’re just for fun). I’m also interested in the slight generalization: ought anti-wealth-concentration mechanisms (e.g. taxes) block the possibility (or maybe just the frequency of) long-lived winners, if everybody can’t live to 100 million years? I propose that the right to create offspring or duplicates, and the right to live longer than normal yourself, should come from the same ration. It’s easy to imagine this as money, but I suppose just as slavery is prohibited, you could prohibit trading of the right to other families/entities.
Maybe I’m missing something, but I see no reason to place such restrictions. A “ration coupon” for reproduction only comes into existence when someone dies or moves off-planet or moves away from this space-station or whatever. The deceased or departed or lucky lottery winner should have the right to pass on the “coupon” to whomever he/she chooses for whatever compensation is mutually agreed. Same goes for the heir.
Hmmm. Maybe you are right. It might not be a good idea to have a futures market on those things.