To Live Forever

While at the moment, it probably sounds like science fiction, life extension and anti-aging are a couple of the touted potential results of genetic modification. One could ask himself the question, if I could live forever, would I choose to? The answer to this question is quite personal to the asker, but the result affects everyone. Imagine the impacts on the job market. If people never died, when would they retire? Would they stay in the workforce indefinitely? To give some perspective, there are already discussions about what will happen to the job market for later generations if the baby boomers don't retire on schedule. If so, what of the generations to follow? What jobs would be available for them? And jobs are only the tip of the iceberg. The survival of the world we live in depends on a pretty close relationship between overall birth rate and overall death rate. Imagine a world where the population grew at exponential rates. Then things like carrying capacity and limited natural resources, not to mention space, become quite dear indeed. Then, of course, the issue of fairness yet again raises its head. An unspoken part of the social contract is to die. Some live to 50 and some to 100 years old, but everyone dies, moving on and making room for the next generation. If some are able to break this social contract, how can fairness be maintained?