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Unethical

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Long before modern civilization, tribes of hunter-gatherers were the prevalent societies. Their year-to-year survival depended on the group's ability to provide food for everyone. People had specific roles to perform, largely dependent on gender and age. In times of plenty, there was food and supplies enough for everyone, and the numbers could grow. Come times of famine and hardship, necessity served as a cruel master. Since the able-bodied adults were those who provided the food, feeding them was first priority. Should they perish, the entire community would soon follow. Children, who were the future of the tribe, came later and got less food, and the old and infirm, though valued and revered for their wisdom, would often go hungry.

If times of hunger lasted long, the old would die, followed by the young. For the tribe as a whole to survive, this was necessary. New children could be born in the future, and the hunters would eventually grow old themselves, but survival in the present was the primary concern, and so the death of the old and weak for the good of the community was a part of life.

In some societies, as with the Inuit, the old would recognize that they no longer contributed to the tribe, and that their inability to keep up would hinder the good of all. They would deliberately choose to stay behind, letting the Arctic cold put them into a final slumber, thus benefiting the tribe and their families by removing a burden on limited resources.

These ancient applications of euthanasia were rooted in the survival. The deaths of some individuals were necessary for the people as a whole to survive. Here euthanasia was ethical, as the individual placed the good of the many ahead of the good of the one. There was a noble ending for an individual who could no longer contribute to their society.

In modern society, things are different. People pay taxes. People pay taxes so that there can be welfare, health systems, social security, and various other assistance programs. The social contract that is implied here is that by paying into the system for decades, the system will be there to provide for the needs that arise in old age. If people pay into the system, and are then denied care in their infirmity, what was that investment made for?

Modern society has risen far beyond the subsistence level. For most, the daily goals are not about survival. Food and clothing are readily available. The desire to own a bigger TV presents a bigger incentive to work hard than does

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