Immortal evil billionaires is what the world needs.
There’s a type of cynical thinking that I’ve sometimes seen when the topic of medical research comes up, especially with research into aging and longevity but I’ve also seen it with things like cancer research, that goes something like “this kind of research is bad actually, because any results will just be reserved for the billionaires and denied to everyone else, making them live a long time without helping common people”.
I have long detested this line of thought. What will happen when the current generation of evil billionaires dies? Their wealth passes to their kids and we get a new generation of evil billionaires. Their lifespan is effectively irrelevant to the power of their class, because that power does not really come from the work of the billionaires as individuals, but from the greater structure of society that concentrates wealth into existing piles of wealth.
If you want to deal with billionaires, “wait for them to die” is not a solution, and as such their individual lifespan is irrelevant to that, there must be changes to the economic and social systems that lead to wealth compounding wealth. And if those changes were made, then the problem of "immortal billionaires is irrelevant due to there being no billionaires, so, whether or not they are dealt with, their individual lifespan isn’t the source of any problem beyond what we already have.
Meanwhile, historically speaking, medical advances have not generally been kept exclusive to the ultra rich as a class. The medical care available to the average human today is more sophisticated than what was available to the average human before much of our current medical technology was invented, and at no point in that period did we solve the problem of " rich people hoard resources and power". Even before capitalism itself existed, equivalent types of people, like kings and feudal nobility, existed, and it isn’t like the descendants of such people are the only ones to have access to current medicine. Based on that, I see no reason to conclude that any given line of medical research that eventually results in something useful, will not help people broadly.
Sorry for ranting, I’m just so tired of reading about somebody’s work to improve people’s lives being met with some equivalent to “eugh, but that will improve the bad people’s lives”, and something the most convenient way to deal with that kind of frustration is to put the thoughts to words.
No, of course my criticism was pointed at the existence of the inequality, not at the importance of medical research. Realistically however this is exactly how it goes down: billionaires will hoard the new cures, partly because they will be expensive, partly as a status symbol. For the latter, they will actively prevent it from reaching the masses, as long as they can, otherwise it stops being a status symbol.
Point to a single medical advance that is being hoarded by the billionaires (outside of the US, because the US health system is a shit show).
I can’t, and it will sound like conteo, but Trump likely suffered a couple of strokes and he’s brought back to a reasonably active state every time. I don’t know what happened to Mitch McConnell, but it is probably very close to necromancy. Treatment like this doesn’t really exist for the regular population. If you get a stroke, you’re out of action for at least several months, probably never to come back as you were before, ever.
You’re suggesting that the medical research community around the entire world, most of whom hate Trump’s guts, are hiding information about new treatments just to benefit him. Instead of cashing in on the knowledge.
Yes. Military research is outside (and above) civilian research.
Ok, now you’ve just veered into Hollywood conspiracy territory.
Fair line of reasoning.
My own runs along the lines of who’s going to win, Billionaires, or Governments who want to get people off retirement and back to being taxpayers? Effective rejuvenation will be nationalized somewhere and then all the Governments will have to follow suit to keep up.
Initially that means longer wage slavery, but I have hope it will cause a change in mindset towards longer term thinking which will be to the world and humanities benefit.
Yeah stop vaccines and other medical treatments, they help billionaires!!!
/s
That’s totally not what I am saying.
Well, aging is a disease, shouldn’t we cure it? What do you think ?
no, aging is not a disease. Also, even if we define it as such, the problem will be the uneven availability of that cure, because billionaires will hog it. Can’t have 8+ billion immortals. Who also keep producing more immortals. Therefore the tech would be kept a close guarded secret only serving the 0.00001%
You are so confused. Aging definitely is a disease, curing it won’t make anyone “immortal” more than curing Alzheimer’s, we’re not in a comic book.
And “the rich will hoard it” is so conspiracy theory that I don’t even.
Maybe we should “infect” billionaires with stuff without a cure, do they’ll start pouring money into the research
Some stuff is obviously harder, but many cancers seem to be linked with viruses, so we can maybe go that route.
Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s will be a lot harder, but I’m open for suggestions
I mean, if we’re going that route, just cut out the middle man, guillotine the billionaire and utilize their wealth to further research.
They’re never going to put 100% of their worth behind any one thing, even if it means curing something terminal (in my opinion, anyway) so just get the terminal part out of the way and seize everything after they’re dead.
Better yet, use them as medical research subjects. At least give them the choice between that or the G sharp.
With those narcissistic sociopaths you’re probably right
Great, now our kids’ kids will also have to deal with the same asshole billionaires.
please just let’s put a stop to this for awhile. Just until Mitch Mconnel is dead. Please. Just stop for like 6 months guys.
Uh…none of this is new.
Inducing iPSCs strips off epigenetic markers of ageing. University PR is recently trying to sell things as innovation when it isn’t.
Anyone here watch the movie In Time?
In the movie you age until 25 and then you have 2 years to find a job and earn more time otherwise you just die.
This research sounds like we’re screwed while the rich are drooling at the opportunity to make our lives miserable forever.
The thing is that the treatments themselves won’t be expensive, economy of scale will push those initially high prices down because the target is basically everyone.
Like the first gene sequencing costed billions and took 15 years, now it’s like some hundreds and is done in minutes. Longevity treatments will also be expensive but then become ridiculously cheap.
Except poor people were not fat and ran everywhere to save time.
There is no use for immortality except to soothe one’s ego. This research should be ended before it is weaponized against the masses by enabling everlasting evil.
Ooh it’s working so well without it right now. /s
Yes, it is going to be monetized like everything else meaning that only rich assholes will live forever. They will go on hoarding until they own everything.
