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ThisSpaceAvailable comments on Embracing the "sadistic" conclusion - Less Wrong Discussion
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I find that a rather odd statement. Isn't "zero welfare", by definition, the amount of welfare such that any life with greater welfare is a life which it is good to create? It seems like there's a paradox in the conception of "zero welfare". We wish to define such absolute minimum amount of acceptable welfare, but the idea of subjecting someone to the bare minimum of welfare is repugnant.
It's like those "structuring" laws, where it's illegal to not report a transaction with more than some maximum amount of money ... but it's also illegal to arrange transactions with the intent of having them be under that ceiling. If it's illegal to transfer $10,000 without reporting it, then someone who is transferring $9,999 is * obviously* up to no good. But then someone transferring $9,998 is obviously trying to avoid the suspicion that $9,999 would generate, so $9,998 should also be suspicious. If this logic is followed long enough, there would be no amount that wouldn't be suspicious. Similarly, if creating a just-barely-worth-living life is repugnant, then creating any life is repugnant.
Several different points:
First of all, the general point is that reducing a (standard, western) human to "zero welfare" would involve inflicting great pain and suffering upon them, which would get you reviled and imprisoned, with judges unlikely to be impressed by your philosophical justification.
That's a bit question begging, as some ethical systems have zero welfare, but don't generally advocate creating people at that level. My favourite definition, for what it's worth, would be that "lives below zero welfare are not worth creating in any circumstances (unless as instrumental goals for something else)".
Most ethical system that reject the repugnant conclusion also reject that argument. How do they do it? Generally by making the decision on the creation of lives dependent on the existence of other lives. Average utilitarianism would advocate against creating lives below the average, advocate for creating lives above the average (indeed average utilitrianism, uniquely among population ethics as far as I can tell, does not need a "zero" level). Egalitarianism would advocate creating any life above zero that didn't decrease equality, etc...
So all these systems would have some situation in which creating a life just above zero would be good, and (many) situations in which it would be bad.