The value of life differs with policies

Source: Is driving more dangerous than flying through ash? - Julian Baggini

The focus of this article (which I got from a friend's friend) is that driving is as dangerous as flying through a volcanic ash cloud.

My focus though, is on.. the value of life.

This means that that the price placed on a human life by different policies varies enormously.

The writer quoted 2 examples (which I have no knowledge as I'm not from the country but I believed that every country would have their transport policies and thus would have their tabulation of the value of life.)

For example, the Train Protection and Warning System put in place after the Ladbroke Grove disaster cost £15.4m per life it has estimated to have saved.

On the other hand, when the US government allowed speed limits of freeways to be increased to 65mph, dividing the extra dollars earned due to efficiency gains by the number of lives lost resulted in a price of $1.54m (about £1m) per life.

But what struck me was this line which make me re-read the article

Faced with the choice between risking someone's life in Africa and an optional new gadget, we routinely choose the latter.

And the best example he gave was this:

Indeed, you could argue that we all often value a life at less than £160. Research by the philosopher Peter Singer suggests the cost of saving a life in the developing world ranges from around $250 (about £160) - $3,500 (£2,270). And how many chose the iPad (about $500) instead of two lives saved in the developing world

I am not trying to say we should all give up our ipad, iphone, laptop, facial, gym and any other indulgences and use the money to save life. What I am saying is many a times, we will buy things on an impulse and in a more readily manner but we will take a long time to save a life.

Bflygal is the best example. Gosh I almost forgot when I first thought of sponsoring my child.. luckily I had my pensieve to re-read.

Been thinking about it since 2004.. Been weighing it since 2006.. Finally sponsored one in 2008.

4 years, that is exactly how long I took. And I remembered the year before I offended a gym consultant stating the money spent in the gym membership could be used much more efficiently. Yup that time I already considering being a donor. I could say the reason for the hesitation is due to family's disapproval but a year has passed and they have accepted it. So that is something else I learn too, that time will make one accustomed to foreign ideas. Haha.
(Oh and for that record, I did sign up for a gym membership at the end of 2008 too so well I guess I chose both..)

FYI, Julian Baggini is the author of Do They Think You're Stupid?: 100 Ways of Spotting Spin and Nonsense from the Media, Celebrities and Politicians.

Hmm I have a feeling I will like these articles.. 100 ways of spotting spin and nosense hahha..

p/s: This is digressing but if CL is fated to read this, these quotes are for you. The only problem, I cannot remember who told me this hmm..

“When you want to do something, you take a bold step forward into the unknown. You try it with all your heart.
If it fails, you take a step backwards BUT .. you are just back to square one. Never worse off.
What is failure? Never measure failure with what you might have, measure it with what you might never achieve.”