Future rejuvenation medicine will address the root cause of age-related diseases, namely aging itself. It will repair the damage that occurs during aging. If people thereby stay young and healthy forever and no longer die of aging or age-related diseases, they will probably also live much longer - theoretically indefinitely, or until they die of something else, such as an accident. For some people, such drastic life extension through future medicine leads to the following concerns and objections, which we would like to address in more detail here:
- Overpopulation - Wouldn't we end up with a problem of overpopulation?
- Pensions - How are pensions supposed to be paid then?
- Unequal distribution - Wouldn't only the rich be able to afford this medicine?
- Unnaturalness - The whole thing would be unnatural.
- Boredom - Wouldn't it be boring to live that long?
- Immortal dictators - Wouldn't dictators then stay in power forever?
- Frailty - Wouldn't people then also be frail for longer?
- Timeframe - The development will take too long, so I won't be able to benefit from it in my lifetime.
- Prioritization - There are more important things that humanity should take care of first.
- Benefits of aging - Doesn't aging also have its good sides?
- Meaning - Isn't it death that makes life meaningful in the first place?
- Wish to die - Don't people want to die at some point?
- Religion - Doesn't this contradict religious values?
- Bleak future - Do we even want to live to see the future if everything keeps getting worse?
- Interfering with evolution - Should we really interfere with evolution?
- Parasites - Will this make us more susceptible to parasites because, with so many fewer deaths and births, we can no longer adapt properly in genetic terms?
- Family relationships - What effects will rejuvenation have on family relationships?
- Serious criminals - Is it a good idea to extend the lives of serious criminals so drastically?
- Fear - Won't we then live in constant fear of accidents and avoid all risks? Won't we have to give up a lot of things?
- Innovation - What happens to change and innovation? Won't a world with such old people mean that our society stops developing?
- Appreciation - Don't we value life precisely because it is fleeting?
- Procrastination - If we know that our time is no longer limited, will we still have the motivation to do anything at all?
- Identity - What happens to memories? Wouldn't such an intervention in the brain change our identity?
- Reversal of development - Is there a risk that this will turn us back into babies?
- Natural limit - Isn't there a natural limit to how long humans can live?
In addition to the specific counterarguments, each of which is linked above, the following general arguments can be made for the faster development of effective medicine against age-related diseases:
Possible problems could only be postponed - This medicine will very likely become available in the future. So it is only a matter of time. The Party for Rejuvenation Research only wants to accelerate the development of this medicine - it will be developed anyway, just more slowly. Not accelerating this development would be no solution to the possible problems mentioned above. They would then simply have to be solved later.
Proportionality - Currently, more than 100,000 people die every day from aging and the diseases associated with it, and many suffer from them for a long time before they die. This is a huge problem. The possible problems mentioned above would be nowhere near as big and could very likely be solved, so they must not be used as an argument against accelerating the development of effective medicine against aging. Or, put another way: in a world without aging, we would not solve the problems mentioned above by inventing and introducing age-related diseases either.
Pro-aging trance
Why do many people defend aging (and age-related death) so vehemently and radically oppose the development of therapies to combat it? One plausible explanation is the pro-aging trance: glossing over aging is a coping strategy that makes it possible to come to terms with it. According to this explanation, the thought of the inevitable decline of one's own body is so distressing that, from a psychological point of view, it is necessary to push it away and to resign oneself to a short life full of suffering. Many people are therefore unwilling to engage with this issue more closely and in a more nuanced way, so as not to be reminded of what they secretly fear will happen to them, and as a result they are usually entrenched in their opinion, so that it is difficult or even impossible to convince them by argument that aging, by common standards (deaths, suffering, economic impact), is one of humanity's greatest problems. The way in which people affected by this phenomenon gloss over aging is so strikingly irrational that it is reminiscent of hypnotized people whose subconscious, in a state of trance, would rather resort to illogical explanations than give up a firm conviction. Frequently heard statements are that aging "has always existed" and is "a natural process" that has to be accepted and that "makes life precious in the first place", that fighting it is impossible anyway because "people already dreamed of that thousands of years ago", and that it is therefore "good and right" that we all age and die. When it comes to treating age-related diseases, to which many of these points apply as well, the same people usually argue differently, however, and would immediately be in favor of curing cancer, Alzheimer's or diabetes. Some activists in the longevity scene compare this phenomenon to Stockholm syndrome: just as hostages come to sympathize with their kidnapper after a certain time, people at some point also make their peace with the idea that they will age and eventually die. A video by the well-known YouTuber CGP Grey explains this connection very vividly:
Video: CGP Grey YouTube channel: Why Die?
In the Wikipedia article on the pro-aging trance you will find further possible explanations for this phenomenon. However, this coping strategy becomes a problem as soon as we reach a point at which aging is no longer inevitable and we can develop effective therapies against it. According to the shared view of numerous researchers, we have been at this point for several years now, but the development of these therapies is delayed if there is a lack of political and public acceptance, interest and support for them. In addition, a world without aging is almost always portrayed as dystopian in fiction (Elysium, In Time, Blade Runner, Altered Carbon etc.). Spectacular advances in rejuvenation research (such as "Robust Mouse Rejuvenation") as well as more public communication and discussion of the topic can help remedy this.
The problem of pushing aging out of our minds is illustrated very well in the parable "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant" (in German "Das Märchen vom tyrannischen Drachen") by the Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom. The German translation can be found at https://nickbostrom.com/fable/drachen-marchen (with conclusion), and the YouTuber CGP Grey published the story as a YouTube video in 2018:
Video: CGP Grey YouTube channel: Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant
External links on concerns and objections
Several concerns and objections regarding life extension are discussed at the following link
Dinge Erklärt - Kurzgesagt: Ewige Jugend - sollten wir das Altern stoppen?
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