1/26/09  What is a Human Body Worth?

      People have calculated the dollar value of a human body, strictly as an academic exercise. If figured on the basic bits, carbon, water, salt and like that, it ain't much. Maybe less than five bucks. On the other hand, if you base the price on the complex molecular structures like amino acids, testosterone, insulin, etc., it's worth a lot. Just ask any pharmaceutical company what they charge for steroids.

      These are both somewhat missing the point because that's the dollar value of the raw material, not the body as a person. A person is worth everything they can accomplish over a lifetime, which might be $billions or next to nothing. In which case I suppose some folks can have negative value. Though I'm not naming names.

      Basically, that's what insurance companies evaluate in actuarial tables. It might seem cold-hearted, perhaps, but they do. It's also how slave traders reckoned a person was worth. In court they apply prices to intangibles like pain and suffering on top of that.

      So, what is your body worth? It's priceless. After all, you literally can't live without it.