Non-Zero Utilitarianism and Terri Schiavo
Mar. 23rd, 2005 09:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsWhat I'm going to say is probably unpleasant to contemplate, but take it at face value. Most of humanity has, for most of human history, loathed and feared other human beings who lack "local" characteristics: "they" have a different color, or speak a different language, or worship a different god. There's not much controversy in that claim.
There is only one group that has, more or less, ignored race, religion, culture, and language, and gleefully interacted with any shape, any color, overcoming language barriers in their pursuit of what they truly wanted. They were not philosophers, scientists, or theologians. No, the one group that really wanted to ignore the differences among men and enjoy only their commonality has been, for centuries, reviled by most right-thinking people.
They were the traders. In pursuit of profit, they ignored everything that was irrelevant to a man's character. Sometimes, this resulted in uglinesses of their own, but you can't deny that 15th century Venetians, 2nd century Romans, and 12th century Chinese merchants ignored what history and tradition said about their neighbors; they simply traded.
Traders have always been mistrusted. They violate the bonds of the tribe and override the instinct to "stick with one's own" in pursuit of something more interesting: economic power.
As unpleasant as it is to contemplate, we tribal humans have never regarded "them, over there" as useful, as worthy, as humans like us until their well-being becomes synonymous with our own, until we understand that their decline would result in our own. Once we've engaged "other people" in a non-zero-sum economic relationship, they become a part of "us." No other human institution has had the power to make us see others as equals quite the way capitalism has succeeded.
As hard and unpleasant as it is to contemplate, Terri Schiavo is no longer "one of us." One of the doctors arguing on the parent's behalf has said that Terri "has the mental capacity of a seven-month-old child, and you wouldn't starve a baby to death, would you?" But a seven-month-old baby is expected to grow up, to become someone, to contribute to the well-being of the community.
Terri has not had that capacity for fifteen years and, if medical knowledge and experience are anything to go on, Terri will never, ever have that ability again. You and I have no vested interest in what happens to Terri at this point. All we can-- and should-- do is trust our spouses, those empowered to speak for us when we can no longer speak for ourselves, to make the best choices on our behalf.
The Schindlers have invited this international voyeurism and have begged for judicial and legislative intervention into this tradition. They have allowed sentiment and deception to override a loving husband's best understanding of what his wife would want. But we should not look away from the harsh truth: Whether Terri lives or dies matters not one whit to our society anymore. But the legacy her parents leave behind will haunt us for decades to come.
There is only one group that has, more or less, ignored race, religion, culture, and language, and gleefully interacted with any shape, any color, overcoming language barriers in their pursuit of what they truly wanted. They were not philosophers, scientists, or theologians. No, the one group that really wanted to ignore the differences among men and enjoy only their commonality has been, for centuries, reviled by most right-thinking people.
They were the traders. In pursuit of profit, they ignored everything that was irrelevant to a man's character. Sometimes, this resulted in uglinesses of their own, but you can't deny that 15th century Venetians, 2nd century Romans, and 12th century Chinese merchants ignored what history and tradition said about their neighbors; they simply traded.
Traders have always been mistrusted. They violate the bonds of the tribe and override the instinct to "stick with one's own" in pursuit of something more interesting: economic power.
As unpleasant as it is to contemplate, we tribal humans have never regarded "them, over there" as useful, as worthy, as humans like us until their well-being becomes synonymous with our own, until we understand that their decline would result in our own. Once we've engaged "other people" in a non-zero-sum economic relationship, they become a part of "us." No other human institution has had the power to make us see others as equals quite the way capitalism has succeeded.
As hard and unpleasant as it is to contemplate, Terri Schiavo is no longer "one of us." One of the doctors arguing on the parent's behalf has said that Terri "has the mental capacity of a seven-month-old child, and you wouldn't starve a baby to death, would you?" But a seven-month-old baby is expected to grow up, to become someone, to contribute to the well-being of the community.
Terri has not had that capacity for fifteen years and, if medical knowledge and experience are anything to go on, Terri will never, ever have that ability again. You and I have no vested interest in what happens to Terri at this point. All we can-- and should-- do is trust our spouses, those empowered to speak for us when we can no longer speak for ourselves, to make the best choices on our behalf.
The Schindlers have invited this international voyeurism and have begged for judicial and legislative intervention into this tradition. They have allowed sentiment and deception to override a loving husband's best understanding of what his wife would want. But we should not look away from the harsh truth: Whether Terri lives or dies matters not one whit to our society anymore. But the legacy her parents leave behind will haunt us for decades to come.
