Arguments against ending aging and why they're wrong

[king_of_apathy]

As I'm sure you can tell, I'm feeling very passionate about the potential for a longer human lifespan. Yet, oddly to me, many people don't feel the same. A Pew Research poll on the attitudes of Americans towards the possibility of living longer found that only 38% would want to live decades longer, and that 51% thought it would be bad for society

Comments

[anonobob]

My personal view is that i would love to live forever, but that i also think its bad for the economy & civilization's evolution.

There was this old sci-fi show in the 90's called 'Lex'. There was an ancient civilization in it that managed to figure out how to live forever. This caused the population to increase to full capacity. They neutralized themselves so there would be no more children, and lived in utopia for 1000's of years, but accidents still happened... and gradually the population started to be killed off one by one. (You can only live forever for so long before statistically you're extremely likely to fall off a ladder and break your neck)... So over millions of years they eventually became extinct, until there was only 1 emo guy with a sword left.

I've always liked the idea of being a vampire, having that big penthouse apartment in Dubai, and gradually hording masses of riches over 100's of years. But if eternal life technology were available to the general public, wealth would be meaningless as everyone else would be doing exactly the same thing, and there would be fewer of the under classes to actually do all the work. In order for eternal life to work for an entire civilization, capitalism needs to change.

Also fewer children would cause science would grind to a halt, and there would be no more progress. I've read that most scientific breakthroughs are made by young people at university level. Each generation seems to have a much better grasp of technology and many more insights than previous generations. We seem to hit middle-age and get stuck in our ways.

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But if we had an nearly endless universe to populate, and figured out how to continue pro-creating then that should solve those issues.

[king_of_apathy]

Yep, I will take whatever opportunity to live as long as I can, so far as I can do it in good health. A healthy life is all I need for me to consider it worthwhile.

As for the economy, we can never know for sure how an economy in an ageless society would work until it's tried, but I suspect that the pros would far outlive the cons. Take an average human lifespan of around eighty years. The first near two decades are spent as a dependent where you're relying on your parents for care and the government for schooling. Then the last decade and a half would be spent in retirement, drawing a pension and spending increasingly more on medical care.
Only just over half are lifespans are spent in work, when we are actively contributing to the economy with taxable incomes. But with far longer lifespans, we'd spend far longer in employment, therefore contributing far more.
The trend over the past century is for menial farm and factory work to be increasingly automated, so there won't be the need for a large 'underclass' workforce to keep those things running.

I've heard that 'death and birth are needed for human evolution' a lot and I just don't buy it. I think it's one of the coping mechanisms people use to try to justify old age and death to themselves, as if it served some useful higher purpose, when the reality is much more likely that we'd all be better of without it. Far from being a hindrance, I suspect that longevity is our next step in society's evolution.
For a start, that thing about most breakthroughs being made by young people at university level isn't true.
https://www.livescience.com/16911-scientific-breakthroughs-genius-aging.html
I see no reason why people who live decades or even centuries longer won't continue to dream, create and adapt.

The good news is we do have a nearly endless universe to populate, and no reason not to continue procreating, so I count these issues as solved already!

[amw]

Lexx was such a weird and wonderful show! I sometimes wonder if i should go back and watch it again, but i'm not sure if it would ruin the magic.

[king_of_apathy]

I just googled it and have to confess this is the first time I've heard anything about the show!

[anonobob]

it was indeed :) I thought i was the only one left who remembered it. Apparently theres still episodes floating about on youtube and Apple TV.