How long do we want to live?

In its 50th anniversary issue, the New Scientist has forecasts for the next 50 years from over 70 of the world's most brilliant scientists. Three of those forecasts deal with ageing. The common theme is as extension of life expectancy "by about 40%". It is possible that a half-century from now, the most urgent question facing our society will not be "How long can humans live?" but "How long do we want to live?" This would amount to a considerable acceleration in the long running 2.5 years per decade growth rate of life expentancy, as discussed in an earlier post.