Thanks for this, I think this is a useful intuition to get across and appreciate the “peak defense vs trough defense” handle for the idea.
Medical countermeasures (e.g. vaccines): for prioritizing survival, one might focus on ensuring a countermeasure can be successfully developed at all, rather than ensuring that existing countermeasures can get fast regulatory approval or widespread distribution.
I think the rest of the post touches on this at various points, but to make it explicit in one place, my claim would be that:
To focus on survival, one might focus on ensuring a countermeasure exists and can be produced, stored and administered in ways that are robust to supply chain disruption, lack of specialist medical personnel, and other symptoms of partial or total societal breakdown.
Thanks for this, I think this is a useful intuition to get across and appreciate the “peak defense vs trough defense” handle for the idea.
I think the rest of the post touches on this at various points, but to make it explicit in one place, my claim would be that:
To focus on survival, one might focus on ensuring a countermeasure exists and can be produced, stored and administered in ways that are robust to supply chain disruption, lack of specialist medical personnel, and other symptoms of partial or total societal breakdown.
Does that sound right to you?
Thanks! And yes, this seems right to me.