In the movie Snowpiercer, a disastrous attempt at controlling climate change has exterminated all of humanity except the passengers on a high-tech train ruthlessly run by Ed Harris’ character, Wilford. An interesting question that comes up is what actions would be justified to keep the human race from going extinct.
If you were in charge of humanity in crisis, which would you choose: killing some people to keep the ecological balance, or letting everyone live, with the result that all will die sooner rather than later?
To hear Ed Harris / Wilford tell it, of course you should keep humanity alive — by any means necessary. But why? The human race will go extinct at some point. Wouldn’t it mean more if we were to reach a pinnacle of love and starve to death in each others’ arms, than if we were to survive another few hundred years in savagery?
The universe will go on without us. There is a lot of beauty in the way it unfolds. Isn’t quality more important than quantity in any work of art?
What do you think? How far would you go to keep humanity alive?
Path of the Beagle 
I’m a fan of the “Walking Dead” and thoughts go through my head quite often on this very subject. In case you haven’t seen the show, the ratio of humans to zombies is about 1000 to 1, and only the toughest, most hardened humans survive in that world. But it’s not just about “killing” zombies, it’s about fighting other humans for the dwindling resources (food, shelter, and weapons). Some humans have even resorted to cannibalism. I marvel that some people will fight to stay alive at any cost, murdering other people and surrendering their souls and their integrity in the process. Once you’ve lost quality of life, why keep on living? At least that’s the way I feel
Realistically, we are never and will never be faced with only those two choices for all of humanity. The idea that all will die sooner rather than later is made up to motivate people to make the first choice. Such a thing cannot be know for there are too many unknowns in the universe to make a scientific claim like that. At best a probability can be thrown out there, but that must set aside the creative nature of humans. When challenged, people seem to have a way to rise to the occasion and overcome the odds. Those who aren’t creative are the ones who resort to violence and violence as a solution.
I’ve been following your blog for a while and enjoy all of your posts, but this one in particular made me think. I formerly had a blog about truth/ lies, but I wasn’t that into it and just started a new one that’s more about family life. Check it out if you like. Either way, I wanted to let you know I find your posts thought provoking and that following this blog has taught me a lot about blogging–thanks.
Thanks for the encouragement, Kirstin. I’m heading over to your blog right now!
Just like I wouldn’t become a terrorist to stop terrorists, I wouldnt cause death to stop it.