--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can all instinctively understand the…" description: "\"We can all instinctively understand the idea of life insurance; most of us will feel an instinctive repugnance at the thought of the viatical industry,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/john-lanchester-2601_ideas_we-can-all-instinctively-understand-the_1997578.jpg" --- # We can all instinctively understand the idea of life… ![“We can all instinctively understand the idea of life insurance; most of us will feel an instinctive repugnance at the thought of the viatical industry, or 'dead peasants insurance.' As market thinking penetrated the life insurance industry, a moral line was crossed, and the application of market…” quote by John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/john-lanchester-2601_ideas_we-can-all-instinctively-understand-the_1997578.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/john-lanchester-2601_ideas_we-can-all-instinctively-understand-the_1997578.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/john-lanchester-2601_ideas_we-can-all-instinctively-understand-the_1997578.jpg) > “We can all instinctively understand the idea of life insurance; most of us will feel an instinctive repugnance at the thought of the viatical industry, or 'dead peasants insurance.' As market thinking penetrated the life insurance industry, a moral line was crossed, and the application of market ideas was taken too far.” [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Market forces applied to life insurance can dehumanize death, turning it into a profit‑driven commodity. **In simple terms:** Treating death as a market product is morally problematic. Key Takeaway Consider ethical limits of profit in essential services. Themes ethics economics mortality Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical policy When to use this quote - policy making - insurance sales - healthcare funding - public debate Key Concepts marketization human dignity insurance industry Questions to Reflect On - Should profit ever dictate how we value human life? - What safeguards protect against exploitation? A Different Perspective Profit motives may conflict with compassion for the vulnerable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > ['Dead peasants insurance' is a term that sounds as if it comes straight out of Monty Python. If only that were true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/dead-peasants-insurance-is-a-term-that-sounds-as-if-it-comes-straight/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [Having health insurance made me feel like a real person. 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This has left many consumers in an intolerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-azar/obamacare-imposed-an-unprecedented-level-of-regulation-and/) [Alex Azar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-azar/) ## More by John Lanchester > [In a democracy, people tend to get the kind of government they deserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/in-a-democracy-people-tend-to-get-the-kind-of-government-they-deserve/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [My standard Nando's order is a chicken breast burger served 'medium,' which is still fairly spicy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/my-standard-nando-s-order-is-a-chicken-breast-burger-served-medium/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [“Bastiat (1801–1850) was a strikingly clear-minded early advocate of what came to be known as liberal economics, whose central idea is that the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/bastiat-1801-1850-was-a-strikingly-clear-minded-early-advocate-of/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [“What was going on here was something Smitty had seen before: a young person’s first real farewell to the world of school and college,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/what-was-going-on-here-was-something-smitty-had-seen-before-a-young/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [“It seemed too as if many of the people were on display, behaving as if they expected to be looked at, as if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/it-seemed-too-as-if-many-of-the-people-were-on-display-behaving-as-if/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [But knowing that you had gone wrong, and knowing how you had gone wrong, were not the same thing as knowing how to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/but-knowing-that-you-had-gone-wrong-and-knowing-how-you-had-gone/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [Video games are the first new artistic medium since television, but they are more different from television than television was from cinema; they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/video-games-are-the-first-new-artistic-medium-since-television-but/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > ['Dead peasants insurance' is a term that sounds as if it comes straight out of Monty Python. 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