X-Message-Number: 8585
From: Tom Matthews <>
Newsgroups: sci.cryonics
Subject: Re: Population red herring
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 1997 17:55:24 -0700
Message-ID: <>
References: <> <>

Anders Sandberg wrote:

 
> Tom Matthews <> writes:
> 
> > Pressure to decrease the birth rate even further
> > in order to accomodate it, might not be acceptable - many people do like
> > having and raising children. I hope that it won't be necessary, but I
> > can easily envisage a future where there may be a law which makes it
> > mandatory that anyone electing cryopreservation will be required to
> > emigrate off-earth when they are revived.

> Why not? I think it is a good idea. If you decide you want to live
> a radically extended lifespan, you could choose between sterilization
> or moving out into space.

This option, even though it is a choice, is not the kind for free
society which I want to live to see happen. Perhaps many people will
choose one of these two, but they are not the only choices and I don't
believe one or the other should be mandatory. As a third reasonable
choice why not be able to pay someone else to emigrate off-earth in your
place? No, I believe that the free market should be able to solve the
problem without their needing to be any such laws. The only question is
how far will the trend towards a freer society have advanced by the end
of the next century.
 
> As I see it, having children responsibly means you can guarantee them
> enough resources to live good lives.

Only if they themselves will produce the necessary value.

> This could be provided by them
> inhereiting you if you do not live long, or by making sure you increase
> the amount of available resources to give them the resources they
> might need (note that the kind of resources needed is highly technology-
> dependent). Essentially it is a question of preserving the cake or
> making it larger. In the long run, of course, making the cake larger
> is preferable.

This is all very true, but it is not related to the question of the
*freedom* to choose. 

--Tom 
Tom Matthews
 
All personal comments do not represent the views of anyone from:
The LIFE EXTENSION FOUNDATION - http://www.lef.org - 800-841-5433 
A non-profit membership organization dedicated to the extension of the 
healthy human lifespan through ground breaking research, innovative 
ideas and practical methods.

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