The Engineering Model of Human Care
A formidable, pragmatic critique of human rights rhetoric challenges the necessity of asserting “intrinsic worth” altogether:
This “engineering model” offers an honest assessment of capacity while providing compassionate, practical care without resorting to emotional fictions.
The Fragility of Utility-Based Care
While the engineering model seems logically sound in times of peace and resource abundance, history demonstrates a fatal structural vulnerability when care is decoupled from an absolute axiom of worth:
The Linguistic Collision: Functional Value Versus Inviolability
The conflict between these two worldviews stems from fundamentally different definitions of the word “value”:
The Necessity of an Ethical Fiction
Asserting that every human possesses intrinsic worth is not a claim of economic utility; it is a vital “ethical fiction” engineered to protect vulnerable populations:
Conclusion
The engineering model of “zero utility, but active maintenance” is an intellectually honest framework for stable systems.
However, human civilization maintains the concept of intrinsic worth because it understands institutional fragility. Fabricating an unassailable baseline of human dignity ensures that when an individual loses all functional utility, their care remains an absolute obligation rather than a dispensable luxury.
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