A11AF82 comments on What legal ways do people make a profit that produce the largest net loss in utility? - Less Wrong

2 Post author: Punoxysm 25 March 2014 01:53AM

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Comment author: satt 25 March 2014 03:51:48AM 20 points [-]

Obvious example: selling cigarettes.

The cigarette is the deadliest artefact in the history of human civilisation. [...] Cigarettes cause about one death per million smoked³⁵ with a latency of about 25 years, which is why the 6 trillion smoked in 1990 will cause about 6 million deaths in 2015. [...] One-third or one-quarter of those deaths will be from lung cancer; about one every 15 or 20 s. [...] Cigarette companies make about a penny in profit for every cigarette sold, or about US$10 000 for every million cigarettes purchased. Since there is one death for every million cigarettes sold (or smoked), a tobacco manufacturer will make about US$10 000 for every death caused by their products.

Presumably there are even worse legal ways to make a profit, but this sets a nicely unambiguous lower bound, I think.

Comment author: Jack 25 March 2014 06:46:28AM 5 points [-]

A lot of industries are going to look really bad if you only score one side of the ledger. Given that a huge number of people continue to smoke and enjoy it, despite knowing the negative implications for their health it seems reasonable to assume that tobacco companies supply the world with a great deal of utility, in addition to the lung cancer.

Comment author: A11AF82 25 March 2014 08:01:57AM *  5 points [-]

This would likely be true of many other (hard) drugs if there had been a history of legally selling them instead of nipping their markets in the bud. In fact, this would probably be true of wireheading too if it was practical, and ultimately, orgasmium. Willing to bite that bullet?

Comment author: Eugine_Nier 25 March 2014 08:11:00AM 2 points [-]

Huh? Jack said that there two sides to the ledger with respect to tobacco. He didn't say which side would necessarily prevail in this case. Furthermore, there is no reason why the side that's stronger for one drug is necessarily stronger for another.

Comment author: A11AF82 25 March 2014 09:50:23AM -2 points [-]

Jack said that there two sides to the ledger with respect to tobacco

And I replied there were similarly two sides to the ledger with respect to many other drugs.

He didn't say which side would necessarily prevail in this case.

Neither did I.

Furthermore, there is no reason why the side that's stronger for one drug is necessarily stronger for another.

Are you saying that out of all existing non-legal drugs, not even one would have a similar profile to tobacco?

Comment author: Jack 27 March 2014 06:07:35AM *  1 point [-]

Yes, other drugs are not unmitigated evils either. I've heard heroin is a 1000 times better than sex. The fact that it will eventually kill you and likely ruin your family life doesn't change that. I think alcohol and caffeine probably come out on the positive side of the ledger while most don't. But it is hard to say.

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