The Value of a Human Life

Can you estimate worth based on investment? If the upbringing of Person A cost more than that of Person B, is Person A more valuable?

Can you estimate worth based on earning potential? If Person B’s salary is ten times higher than Person A’s salary, is Person B ten times valuable to society?

Can you estimate worth based on death rather than birthright or life? What if the assassination of an individual meant cash flow into another? If so, does that become their price?


Money is powerful because it is the power of potential. With it, people perform transactions and potential deeds become a reality. So, doesn’t this mean that a person with more money has more potential and is more valuable?

Money is the lifeblood of society but setting the price of a human life is very tricky. This is because humans are unpredictable and their paths are not set in stone. Money flows and because of its flow, using it as a way to define someone’s worth is unwise.

If you can link someone’s worth somehow to money, you’ve invalidated that as a metric for a person’s worth. For example, in the modern era, popularity and wealth go hand in hand. A famous celebrity can sway the people with mass media and such influence is easy to capitalize on. And yet, such popularity is uncertain. It comes and goes based on the whims of the masses. So it’s not a steady way to measure one’s worth.

Yes, you can attach monetary worth to a person. But it’s not always an accurate representation of their value. This is because money is potential but it can lose value and it can be wasted.