The privileged(?) few would have to live like leaches off the short-lived ones. It would be like developed world vs undeveloped world currently is, only more so. Not pretty.
we've seen a huge increase in overall longevity over the past century or so -- because preventable diseases are better prevented, treatable diseases are better treated, large numbers of children no longer tend to die, better maternal health care means that mothers do not tend to die in childbirth, safety standards have greatly reduced accidents and decreased mortality when they occur, etc.
i think it is inarguably better for young children to not lose their parents, for parents to not lose their young children, for grand-parent relationships to be common. these social ties are important, particularly since other community relationships are less stable in the modern world -- people do not stay in the small towns where they were born and everyone knows them, do not necessarily have automatic support from a group ready to step in should disaster stike. as social, thinking, emotional animals, i think we need human ties to the past and the future, and not just intellectual ones.
on the other hand -- reducing early and preventable deaths has already meant that people struggle more and more with chronic illnesses, cancer, dementia. i know your hypothetical rules those out, but it is a fact of aging -- if you don't die early and sudden, you are more likely to die later and lingering, with most of your friends gone already. my wonderful great-grandmother lived to 92, and was in her own home and even gardening until 90, but her last 2 years were miserable. my grandmother, for whom i provided care, lived to 88, but she had alzheimer's, some psychotic symptoms, and was unable to walk for her last 6.5 years -- a situation that was largely unhappy all around.
this could just be my bias, but i find it hard to accept a framework where some folks live forever. what would one do with all that time? even if one was healthy and active, how many jobs would really be open? i'm only 50 and struggle with staying semi-literate in the computer world -- do i want to be trying to be a cool kid in another 50-60 years? um, no. and i'm pretty sure my children, grandchildren, etc. would not appreciate the gifts of wisdom that i'd likely bestow, having nothing better to do.
Yes, it's one thing to get most people up to their alloted four score and ten, and assuming I stay reasonably healthy, I have enough left to do that I wouldn't mind heading toward ninety. But once we have large numbers of people going much beyond that, it's a qualitatively different situation.
Commenting by HaloScan
