Price Of Life
The article on ‘How much for a Life’ looks at
the ethical view of an individual
life in an economic way. To say that every
person on this planet is worth the
same amount, give or take a few million,
is putting all individuals on an equal
plain. One would argue that a
professional doctor, who is in the business of
saving peoples lives, is much
more important the individual who is unemployed
and only watches television
all day. Another would argue that someone like
Mother Theresa is far more
important and valuable than The President of the
United States. When you look
at these two arguments, who you view to be more
important and valuable
depends upon what end of the scale you are living. If I
were another
unemployed person who stays home and watches television all day, I
would
argue that I am worth just as much as any doctor in the country. I take
this
view because I come from the same environment stated in the argument
above.
In the second argument, if I were not a religious man, I would
probably think
that the president of the United States if far more important
and valuable than
Mother Theresa. What I am trying to say is that you
cannot possibly put a value
on any one persons life. We all come from
different parts of the world and are
raised in different types of
environments. To say that the value of an
individual life increases with the
contributions that person makes to the world
is not even a fair statement.
The person who is unemployed and only watches
television all day might have
five or more children that needs their attention.
The person also may be
staying home due to the ever increasing cost of childcare
and it does not
make sense for them to work. The professional doctor may be a
single person
with no responsibilities other than his or her work. Does this
increase or
decrease the value of his or her life? I do not believe this to be
true. When
you look at our society as a whole, life is definitely not
considered
priceless. Through out history there are many examples in which
life is an
expendable commodity. Looking at some of the major wars that we
have seen in the
past is a great example of the decreased value put on life.
Many high political
leaders sent our military into other countries to fight
wars that we did not
belong in or that were for pieces of land and resources.
Placing the life of an
American soldier lower than the land or resource
the politicians wanted, shows
how life is not valued at all. With the ever
increasing demand for rights to
lands and resources, there is and ever
decreasing supply of life to fight with.
Other examples of how we devalue
life can be seen on television and even in our
local towns. Many people are
living on our streets, freezing, starving, and even
dying. If we placed a
high value on life, we would create the necessary shelters
for these helpless
people. This is something that we are lacking in through out
our whole
society. People do not care. Does this show much for life? No it does
not. In
the end, I do not believe that we can ethically and economically put a
value
on life. The ever-increasing demand for safer products is something that
we
need to get accomplished and if it means that we need to take away from
one
resource to increase it, then so be it. This needs to be accomplished
even if it
means a higher cost. By increasing our commitment to safety we are
increasing
our commitment to placing a higher value on life in general. This
is an area
that we can at least show some type of commitment to people and
the value of
their lives. Economically, the price of life is immeasurable,
inconsistent, and
morally
iniquitous.