MarooliBadondon

EnglishHonors10
Benich
October5,2015
ValueofLife
Societyhasbeenforcedtovalueindividuallivessinceitformed.Thevalueoflifehas
beenthebasisofmanypoliticalandeconomicdecisionsthathaveshapedsocietytothisday.
However,therationalebehindtheassignmentofworthtohumanlifeisnotablackandwhite
discussionnowidespreadcriteriaforvaluinglifeisbothmoralandeconomicallyviable.Society
shouldnotvalueallhumanlivesasequalsandshouldnotassignthemmonetaryvaluesbecause
superficialwealthcannotreplacelife.
Societyhasplacedmonetaryvalueoflostlivesseveraltimesinthepastwhetherthisis
anethicallysoundsystemisstillupfordebate.AmandaRipleysWhatisaLifeWorth?isan
articleaboutthemonetarycompensationofthefamiliesofthevictimsofthe9/11terrorist
attacks.Theallocationofmoneybecamecontroversialasdisparitiesintheamountofmoney
providedtofamiliesindifferenteconomicclassesbecameapparent.Thearticlestatesthat
Thatsbecausethecourtsarenotattemptingtoreplacesouls,saysPhillipBobbitt,alaw
professorattheUniversityofTexaswhohaswrittenabouttheallocationofmoneyduringtimes
oftragedy.Werenottryingtomakeyoupsychologicallywhole.Wherewecancalculatelossis
economicloss.Bobbittclarifiesthatevenincourtcases,livesthemselvesarenotvaluedata
monetaryamount.Grantmoneyisbasedoneconomiclossandonhowmuchmoneytherecipient
needstoupholdtheircurrentstandardofliving.Courtsareincapableofreplacinglivesthathave

beenlostandbelievethatthemostbeneficialandunbiasedcompensationismonetary.Therefore,
anargumentforassigninglifeamonetaryvalueiscounteredwiththefactthatlegal
compensationisnotintendedtoreplaceliveslost.Despitethisfact,NatalieVolchoverclaimsin
herarticleWhatstheDollarValueofLife?thatputtingapriceonhumanlifemayseem
callous,butforsafetyanalysts,it'ssimplynecessaryYoucan'tsimplysaythateverylifeis
infinitelyvaluable,saidJohnMueller,apoliticalscientistatOhioStateUniversity.Therefore
valuingalifeatcertainmonetaryamountisanecessaryeviltokeepoureconomyafloatinthis
monetizedworld.
Onewayofassigningavaluetolifeisbyevaluatingtheeffectthatpersonhasmadeand
potentiallywillmakeonothers.Oneexampleofassigninglifecanbedemonstratedbythe
PresidentoftheUnitedStates.Becauseofhisposition,heorsheisvaluedmorethattheaverage
manorwoman.IfthesituationarosewherethePresidentslifeoranaveragepersonslifewasin
danger,mostwouldimmediatelychoosetosavethePresidentbecausehislifeisofmore
consequence.Thissituationshowsthatalthoughtheremaynotbeaunitofmeasurementtovalue
lifelikemoney,livescanbeplacedasofhigherconsequenceorsignificancethanothers.The
Presidentdirectlyaffectsthelivesmanymorepeoplethantheaveragepersonbecauseofthe
responsibilityplacedonhimtherefore,hislifeisworthmore.Thissystemprovidesclearchoices
insomecases,butothercasesarelessstraightforwardandcanbesubjective.Forexample,inthe
caseofcomparingthevaluesofadoctorandafireman,bothpeoplewhosavelivesand
positivelyimpactsociety,itbecomesmuchmoreunclearandcanresultinabiasedconclusion
(or,morelikely,beinconclusive).RogerEbert,afilmcriticthatsufferedterminalcancer,hasa
similarideaaboutpurposeandvalueoflives.HestatesthatIbelievethatif,attheendofitall,

accordingtoourabilities,wehavedonesomethingtomakeothersalittlehappier,andsomething
tomakeourselvesalittlehappier,thatisthebestwecando,intheinterviewinTheEssential
Man.Ebertshowshowindividualsvalueothers(andtheirown)livesdifferentlyfromtheway
societydoes.Hesaysthatalifesvaluedependsonthewayithascausedhappinessinothers
lives,i.e.impactedotherindividuals,groups,andsociety.Again,inthissystem,thevalueof
humanlifeisnotbasedoneconomicstatus,butapersonalandsocietalimpactand,everyoneis
notvaluedasequal.
Valuinghumanlivesatmonetaryamountshasbecomeaparadigmthatsomearguecouldbe
detrimentaltothelowerclass.Thisdiscussionraisesthequestionofwhetheritisethicallywrong
tovaluepeopledifferentlybasedontheireconomicstatus.Societyshouldnotplacemoreworth
onwealthierpeople,butalsocannotrealisticallyplacethesamevalueoneverylifeintheworld.
Therefore,amoreaccuratecomparisonofvaluesoflivesisbasedontheeffectliveshaveon
otherindividualsandsociety.Althoughthissystemdoesnotprovideanexactcalculationoreven
acompletelyobjectiveperspective,itisamorejustsystemthanthatofmonetaryvalue.
However,thecompensationoflostliveswillcontinuetobemadeinmoneybecauseofthefact
thatlivesareirreplaceableregardlessofthemeansormethods,makingmoneytheonly
convenient,practical,andimpartialchoice.