Re: Extropians and animal rights

Robin Hanson (hanson@econ.berkeley.edu)
Wed, 13 Jan 1999 12:18:36 -0800

Mark ? writes:
>>So unless you do something else in switching from meat to veggies, like
>>donating money to charities that raise cows which are never killed, the
>>direct effect of switching is to reduce the number of cows who ever live.
>
>I've had this discussion with militant vegetarians before; their argument
>seems to be that they're so concerned about the welfare of cows that they'd
>rather see them extinct than used for food (and I'm not paraphrasing, that's
>what I finally get out of most of them if I keep pushing hard enough).
>Personally I find that idea totally irrational, but that won't convince
>them of anything.

I'm more disturbed by analogous arguments made about people. Many people who comment on population policy are of the opinion that it is a bad thing to let poor people have impoverished kids, even though those kids would find their lives worth living.