How £much for a human life?

[Martin Cassini]

My heated debates with traffic engineers often concern their practice of giving everything, including road safety, an economic value. They allow £2m for a life. Today, in the 4th Reith lecture about the new citizenship by Michael Sandel, I heard my objections expressed along these lines: cost-benefit analysis is spurious because there are certain things which can’t be measured or given an economic value, most notably, human life. In renouncing moral judgement, the technocrat becomes undemocratic. Yes, and on the roads, real change can only come from changing the culture - from priority to equality. That way, we will change people’s attitudes, and transform life on the roads in ways that transcend economic value.

[phunksta]

Also heard this - excellent lecture, tackling AND ANSWERING a lot of the ills of modern politics, and society in general.