Global Implications of Extending the Life Span

Abstract

Editor's Note: The question of the technical feasibility of extending the human life span spawns the additional question of the social implications of such extension. John Petersen, president of The Arlington Institute, shapes the answer to this latter question in terms of the cost of such longevity therapy, exploring the outcomes dependent on this variable, then explores the global implications. This effort—which many will consider premature—should be considered the basis for inspiring further, more-detailed efforts to anticipate the social forces which a significant increase in the human life span will bring into motion and their consequent outcomes.