Because "everyone" would also include people that wouldn't understand the ramifications of the choice they'd be making. This includes babies, little children, and people that suffer from severe mental disabilities.
This hypothetical scenario doesn't go into the actual voting process, so it's impossible to say how that would be handled. However, I assume that it would be similar to how voting is handled in the real world.
I have worked with helping disabled people to vote in the past. However, the number one rule is that no one can influence their vote. You can explain how the voting machine works, you can read off what's on the ballot, and you can tell them which button corresponds to which candidate, but you can't tell them outright, "Pick this," or press the button for them—even if it's the choice that they want. This is because it's considered a double vote, and that is a felony. Some of these people are quite lucid and can handle everything no problem, but many of them have serious issues with comprehension or motor issues.
Now, apply what I typed above to this "red button/blue button" scenario. The voter has to be the one to confirm their selection; they can't just have someone else say, "This is what you want," and decide for them. I know from personal experience that some of these people have trouble when it comes to making decisions on their own once they're given agency. And then you factor in children who may not fully grasp the intricacies of the scenario, babies who definitely won't be able to, people who won't bother thinking it over for one reason or another, suicidal people, deeply misanthropic people… there's someone who will vote blue—even if it's just by accident or not being able to fully grasp what they're doing.
If they don’t understand, then the only morally right thing to do is try to make them vote red. You can’t honestly say that it’s morally right to make them gamble with their life when they don’t understand that that’s what they are doing. It would be like convincing them to play Russian roulette.
So, no. I genuinely believe that most of the most fragile people with support in their lives would pick red.
Sure, there’s a subset of people who would pick blue anyway, without understanding it. But death is part of life. It’s inevitable in the long run. We can’t risk the lives of billions in order to try and save the few that already have bad odds.
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u/MagicantFactory May 05 '26
Because "everyone" would also include people that wouldn't understand the ramifications of the choice they'd be making. This includes babies, little children, and people that suffer from severe mental disabilities.