What means more to you?
Money or human life?
9/2/2006
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9 Comments:
That's a bit two-sided. I'd choose neither. Given the option I'd opt for human endeavour (yes, at the cost of both money and life).
Money or human life? Human life, if that means a better life for others. Best, rama
No doubts: always human life! But I guess your government will not agree :-)
Doncha love those questions which just lead to more question?
It depends on money from what and whose human life. Choices are in context.
Good debate fodder! Nothing I like better.
To answer your question, I'd have to say ... there's no way to answer that question. Human life is important, no question, but without money, human life suffers.
I think the real question you're likely asking is: Where is the balance point between the focus on earning money and creating better human experiences?
Personally, I don't rate a single human life that is worth less than money. Some humans are despicable, yes, but money is quite often the source of the greed that exacerbates that characteristic.
I just read a story about a $100 billion missile test...when they've shut down half of the schools in SF to 'cut costs'. Quite an imbalance there. The thought is that the money spent could, perhaps, save human lives in the future. Sure...if we haven't totally wrecked them in the meantime.
I tend to think of this question emotionally, though. Last night, Chris and Tantek were thinking about it in purely mathematical terms. "How many human lives?"
I just can't think of it that way.
@anonymous - yes...balance is a good way to think of it. Not one or the other. It's about balance.
You say that, but what do your actions say?
It's definitely complicated, because most of us take our lives into our hands every day, traveling the roads in automobiles!!! Even leaving aside the question of whether it would be safer to live in a smaller town with less crime where you could safely walk to the supermarket, Do you spend the most possible money to get the safest possible vehicle and options, that will still suit your needs? And we're just talking about YOUR life, not what you may do to save someone else's life.
Time is money, so pulling off to the side of the road to have a cell phone conversation is really only a matter of what, @~$50/hour, perhaps as little as $10? are you willing to risk the lives of your fellow motorists for so piddly a sum? If the chance of your talking causing a fatal accident is 1:100,000, does that mean that talking on the phone 100,000 times is worth a life? Using $50/hr from above, and even an hour-long conversation, that puts a life at about $5M, depending on how many die in the accident.
Someone once posed a question of playing Russian Roulette with a million-chambered revolver; would you play such a game? If offered money to play, how much would it take? a thousand? a million? a billion? If you were FORCED to play, *every day*, would you forego some luxuries in your life (that morning latte, perhaps) to double the number of chambers in the revolver?
28.5% of all deaths are due to heart disease. A Starbucks White Hot Chocolate has 720 calories, and 31g of fat; more than a Big mac and a coke combined.
Are you already playing with with a million chambered revolver? have you tried to double the number of chambers? Is your gun (automobile) aimed such that it could kill someone else too?
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