What if people suddenly lived to be 500 years old?

Question: What if people suddenly lived to be 500 years old!?

Say there was a legendary scientific breakthrough in the near future that would expand the average lifespan to five hundred years!. What other monumental changes would follow!? Do you think there would be a breakdown of society as a whole; specifically freedom and liberty as we know it!? Would you want to live that long or would you want a traditional lifespan!? What if you were forced to live this long!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

They can't "suddenly" live to be 500 - it's going to take them 500 years, and there's nothing even remotely sudden about that!. ;-)

Some folks would probably go a bit crazy and take advantage of it in unpleasant ways, but by and large I don't think it would have a really major impact on the world at first!.

Eventually, though, folks who opted not to take such a treatment would experience themselves growing older and more decrepit while others their same age remain young and healthy!. Once that reality really began sinking in with those folks, -that- is when any fireworks (if there are going to be any) will begin!.

Some of the consequences would be quite interesting!. For instance:

- Parents who've taken the treatment might end up some day providing nursing care for children of theirs who for whatever reason declined it!. Can you imagine being young and healthy and having to put your own child into a nursing home because they're simply too old and feeble to take care of themselves!?;

- Some folks will want to continue having children while other folks think population growth should remain as close to zero as possible since folks are going to live virtually forever!. Children would become increasingly rare!. A single, ordinary public school might serve the educational needs of an entire state or region of the country for all the children that are likely to exist there;

- A lot of people would begin having carreers in "phases"!. They'd work, say, 40 years as one thing, retire for 20, go back to work for another 40 as something else, and so on and so on and so on!. Some folks by the time they got to be 500 will have been everything from a janitor to a CEO to a world-class musician over the course of their many carreer phases!. Very few would end up wanting to work uninterrupted through the entire 500 years with no change in vocation;

- Assorted ideological movements would begin to emerge, primarily involving debate between those who advocate the use of such treatment and those who do not wish to receive it!. Eventually, somebody, somewhere would try to make the legal claim that to refuse the treatment is equivalent to suicide and that as such, it should be forced!. But that movement won't get very far, and by the time it might have otherwise gained enough steam to break onto the scene, enough of the naturists will have died off that it will cease being an issue!.

What an interesting world!. And of course, by the time they got to be 500, there would likely have been discovered a way to extend the lifespan to 1000, and so on and on and on!.!.!.

Nice question! :-)Www@QuestionHome@Com

Methuselah did live longer than 500 years, no!?

Basically, if more people lived longer and continued to have children at the same rate as now, the earth would be choked, because people will not be leaving to make room for the new ones coming!.!.!.

Unless we are able to colonize some other planets where we can expand to!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

only if my body can stay healthy and younger longer, but eventually I would want to die, death is a much needed relief from life!.!.!.could it happen, I'm not against it, scientists have made anti-aging breakthroughs with mice recently, life is more restricted when we have a lot of people on the planet, its more restricted now because we have so many billions on earth!.!.!.

and people don't value each other as much anymore because workers are replaceable, so are friends, etc!.!.its sad, I'm not sure what the answer is yet but it doesn't have to be all evil when it comes to ceasing aging and living forever!. I would like more time to be young, I'm 25, more time for my passions, etc!. More time to really enjoy being alive!.

I want us to value each other more, help each other, instead of seeing each other as "replaceable" and I think if we are to live that long with each other then we should change things for the better, make earth a better place for all of us!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I would love to live that long!. I think society would be better (but very overpopulated)!. Being able to live that long would allow people to master many things that would be impossible in a 70 year life span!. Think of all the knowledge a driven individual could possess!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

-The world will be overpopulated( but if we slow down the birth rate as well maybe that will help keep things a little stable)!.

-Older generations, being strong and non-aging will not want to pass power to the younger generation!.

But personally, it will be great to live until your 500 years old being healthy and fit but I guess that this won't really happen Www@QuestionHome@Com

Overpopulation, and all that goes with it, would be the obvious answer!.

Most of the overpopulace would either starve or be killed in the inevitable struggle for control of critical resources (food, energy, and land), so I suppose the problem would, in a way, be self-correcting!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

!.!.!. then would come along another great flood!. I wonder who would play the part of Noah!?!.!.!.hmm!.

I just want to live long enough to raise my daughter and see her reach her goals!. If I can live that long, I'll have lived a lifetimeWww@QuestionHome@Com

All I know is Bicentennial Man was way creepy!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Yes I would like the extension!. There is so much to see, experience and do!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

No need to wonder!. It won't happen!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I read an article within the last few months that posited that we might be living to be 150 years of age!. It listed the positives and negatives, none of which I remember!. As for 500 years, food could become a problem!. We would no longer be able to retire at 65, because the economy would not support that many retirees!. Finding work might be a problem,but I suspect that would be offset by new inventive and scientific developments created by the older population who will have time to develop their ideas!. We probably would become a more meditative society, as there would not be such a rush to accomplish all the things that we want to do!. I think while the population would climb, the birth rate would go down!. On the negative side is the possibility that a small group of people might determine who lives and/or dies!. Considering a good part of the world does not know freedom and liberty as we experience it, I believe that there would not be much change in that area either for good or worse!. Society would not break down, but it would change to adapt to the new parameters!. Space exploration might have to become a necessity!.

In answer to the second part of your question, I personally would not like to live that long!. (It is also a problem I have with Heaven and Hell, as they are for all eternity!.) I opt for a traditional lifespan with a pleasant death!. I do not think anyone would want to force you to live that long!. Already the idea has surfaced of doing away with non-productive older people!. The only way I could be forced to live that long would be if I were something like a Zombie slave having no control over my mind and my body or my personal world experience gets a whole lot better!.

Thanks for the great question!.Www@QuestionHome@Com