Longevity and the possible utopic and dystopic futures of a world without old age.
What we stand to lose in living forever
I read a blog post a few weeks ago about why we need longevity startups. These “anti-aging” companies are a favorite among high profile investors because, of course the rich want to live forever. But the post argues a different angle and specifically speaks to the distinction between healthspan and lifespan. Healthspan being the amount of time we can lead healthy, productive lives. And lifespan being the amount of time we spend physically breathing on this earth, including those last couple of decades in less-than-ideal health conditions.
Put another way, no one wants to live forever while trapped in the body and mind of a 90-year-old, but what if aging didn’t equate to the typical sickness and fragility associated with old age? What if you could live like you were 40, well into your 90s?
When posited like this – it’s hard to argue against the vision. Of course, if we could get rid of age-related diseases such as arthritis, dementia, and heart disease in favor of living longer, healthier lives we would. If the average age to retire in the US is 64, who wouldn’t want to spend the last few decades as energetic and alert as the day we turned 40? We could have the time and energy to travel the world. We could spend more time with our children and grandchildren. We could live without wasting the last few years of life in a nursing home.
As what often happens after reading about a utopic idea that seems too good to be true, I started to think about the unintended consequences of a simple idea becoming reality. What would be lost if something as fundamental as aging became a thing of the past? Is there something inherently human about the fragility of old age? If we weren’t forced to slow down, would we? Do we need the physical reminder that we won’t live forever to recenter on what is most important?
I want to believe that yes, we would take those golden years of our life and live them out to their highest, most fulfilling potential but then again, we are human. And inertia is strong.
If you got tired less often, if your mind stayed sharp, if you could continue to climb the corporate ladder, would you step off? Would you spend that time extra decade or two of health actually exploring the world? Would you actually prioritize your time to be with friends and family instead of telling yourself there’s always tomorrow? I think a lot of people would. I also think a lot of people would not.
Harvard’s 85 year study on human health and longevity tracked over 250 men over 80 years and showed that the “role of genetics and long-lived ancestors proved less important to longevity than the level of satisfaction with relationships in midlife.” If what the Director of the study Robert Waldinger says is true and that “loneliness kills,” then why is it easier to “cure old age” than build strong communities? If our health span grew longer but we were still lonely, would we just take it as an opportunity to work longer? Would the retirement age creep up to 70? 80? Does an increase in health span automatically mean an increase in happiness and satisfaction?
I don’t think the answer is as straight forward as we would like. There is no magic bullet for happiness. Satisfaction isn’t something that ripens for a few decades before being ready to pick at a certain age. Understanding who and what is most important is always going to require intentionality, no matter how long we engineer our future healthspan to be.
But until then…brb just gonna go write a dystopic short story about a world where the entire managerial work force is made up of 80 to 90-year-olds because they have the most experience and never felt the need to leave. A world where the average retirement age is 75 because everyone starts working longer to amass wealth while inflation and cost of housing continue to climb. A world where everyone struggles to define what’s important amongst an ocean of things competing for our attention. A world that in some ways, is not much different than our own.
Feel free to leave a comment about what a longer health span would mean for you personally or society at large. And be sure to subscribe to get every new post straight to your inbox - you don’t have to have a substack account subscribe.