[ExI] Not Immoral to Want to Be Immortal

[BillK]

On Sat, Apr 26, 2008 at 1:59 AM, Olga Bourlin wrote:
> Well, dayum!  An article (masticated for the masses) somewhat sympathetic to
>  longevity / immortalism has hit the cyberstands.
>
>  "Fears of a world of geezers who hog up all the resources are overblown":
>

Yes, it is a good article for mainstream media.
As western countries have ageing populations, more and more older
people have an interest in ageing problems.  So as the older
demographic is increasing, therefore the media will cater more to
their interests. Older people are still customers who can be sold
stuff!

He mentions increasing the age of retirement. Euro countries are
already doing this.
Mainly to avoid government pension schemes going bankrupt. In
socialist Euroland, this mainly hits responsible people who have saved
for their retirement. Increasing the age of retirement doesn't mean
there are jobs for all older people. It just means you don't get the
government pension until later. In the jobless gap period you either
spend your savings or claim welfare.

But then he contradicts himself by saying that employers could offer
early retirement to allow younger people to progress in the company.
Employers cannot afford pensions any more than government can. I have
read somewhere that General Motors spends more on the pension scheme
than it does on making cars.

His reference to 'The Price is Right' raises another problem. How many
repeats of 'The Price is Right' do older folk actually want to watch?
Getting an interest or hobby is what keeps them going. Reading the
letters after the article, it looks as though many of these over 60s
people have made looking after themselves as their main hobby. Diet,
exercise, vitamin pills, cosmetic treatments, etc. seem to occupy a
lot of their time.

If we got a yearly 'anti-ageing' injection, what would they do with their time?

I know all the 20 - 30 year olds on the list will immediately respond
that they can study to be physicists or engineers or become great
artists, etc.  But there is an ennui that comes with age. Older folk
look at all these youngsters rushing around 'doing stuff' with a sort
of bemusement. 'Why bother? What's all the fuss about?'

There is more to living longer than just eating, sleeping and watching tv.
After 100 will people really *want* it?


BillK