X-Message-Number: 5725
From: John de Rivaz <>
Newsgroups: sci.life-extension,sci.cryonics,uk.legal
Subject: Re: Death (was Donaldson MR and Miss Hindley)
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 10:14:17 +0100
Message-ID: <>
References: <> <4flato$>

In article: <4flato$>   (Nick 
Maclaren) writes:
> If, however, it (cryonics) starts to
> affect (note: not just use) a significant proportion of society's
> resources, then I shall change my mind.

Thanks for you post in this debate and for taking the time to air your 
opinions.

Others have replied more ably than I to your other comments, so I would 
like to reflect on just this one.

If resources are spent on funding cryonic suspension, the bulk of these 
resources are placed into investments, the income form which funds the 
maintenance of the cryonics capsules or dewars. When money is invested, it 
is used to provide working capital by industry, which generates real wealth 
(in the form of products and infra-structure) and provides jobs. That money 
goes on and on doing this.

If resources are merely bequeathed to individuals, they are frequently 
spend on ephermera, such as holidays or even destuctive activities such as 
lung smoking. Admittedly this keeps the money in curculation, but as each 
ephermal item is bought and consumed the total wealth of society is 
reduced. If resources are confiscates, appropriated (ie taxed) by the 
government, they are seldom spend on capital projects. Instead they are 
spend on social engineering projects that just disspiate wealth.

Although cryonics is consuming liquid nitrogen, all that is really being 
lost is the energy consumed in liquifying it, as the gas itself 
re-circulates through the Earth's atmosphere. I would suggest that this 
energy is quite small and well repaid by the benefit to society of having 
the capital available to industry for investment. It could be argued that 
liquid nitrogen is actually a by-product of making liquid oxygen (which has 
important industrial uses) and therefore it would be made anyway and just 
vented to the air if not used.

Yes, cryonics may affect a significant part of the worlds resources on day. 
If it doesn, then I think the effect will be highly beneficial. It will 
increase overall human progress, and even those at the bottom end of the 
ladder will benefit. 

Consider what is available to a poor person today compared to a poor person 
100, 200 etc years ago. These additional benefits are the result of 
progress and industrial growth. Anyhing to speed it up (such as a society 
that invests more of its savings) will benefit everyone.

-- 
Sincerely,     ****************************************       
               * Publisher of        Longevity Report *
John de Rivaz  *                     Fractal Report   *
               *          details on request          *
               ****************************************
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because giving information does not decrease your information.
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