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Suicide

From The Austrian Economics Wiki, the global repository of classical-liberal thought

Suicide, the act of killing oneself, is a right of the individual according to the principle of self-ownership. It could be argued that it is a quicker, easier, simpler, surer, and more permanent method of alleviating uneasiness to destroy the brain, and therefore the ability to feel uneasiness, than to eliminate the aspects of the world that one feels uneasy about. Ludwig von Mises writes, however, that "all such qualms, doubts, and scruples are subdued by the irresistible force of man's vital energy."[1] Nonetheless, it is evident that in some cases the forces of resignation gain the upper hand over the will to live.

Disposition of body

Timo Virkkala argued that suicide is (or can be) a tort against others because it constitutes littering with one's body, by abandoning it, if one does it carelessly.[2] Stephan Kinsella remarked, "I like your theory, but it's hard to enforce any penalty." It was noted that one of the problems is that it is difficult to get a business license to establish a one-stop suicide-and-body-disposal service. In a free market, much as one gets a deposit for empty bottles or salvage value for a wrecked car, one could get cash for one's mortal remains. There might be the possibility of reprocessing the bodies into food (much as in Soylent Green) or selling them to necrophiliacs for personal enjoyment or to medical schools as cadavers for use in teaching students or conducting medical research.

References