I think the argument for that decision not being “sadistic”, but the least bad option is reasonable if he can win the object level argument.
However, his explanation of why a lot of people living lives worth living is bad is flawed as he constructs people with a life barely worth living, then appeals to their status as an underclass to encourage us to emotively push this below the life worth living line. Unfortunately, any underclass status needs to be included in the utility calculation when it is determined whether or not a life is worth living.
I think the argument for that decision not being “sadistic”, but the least bad option is reasonable if he can win the object level argument.
However, his explanation of why a lot of people living lives worth living is bad is flawed as he constructs people with a life barely worth living, then appeals to their status as an underclass to encourage us to emotively push this below the life worth living line. Unfortunately, any underclass status needs to be included in the utility calculation when it is determined whether or not a life is worth living.