# What’s a Life Worth During a Pandemic? **URL:** **By** Peter Van Doren, Paul Matzko **Published:** June 25, 2020 --- How do you decide when it’s worth saving a life? Have you wondered whether a particular public health intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic has actually been worth it? Perhaps you then felt a bit ghoulish for asking the question, given that lives are at stake. Well, you're in luck because this episode of Building Tomorrow asks about that price tag. After all, resources are finite and we all routinely trade risk for convenience; there are some interventions that would not be worth the opportunity cost. Answering the question of how much a human life is worth is the first step to figuring out whether the shutdown and other measures during the pandemic have been worthwhile. Cato economist Peter Van Doren joins the pod to help us think through the topic. ## Further Reading: [The Politicization of Disaster Relief](https://www.cato.org/blog/politicization-disaster-relief), written by Peter Van Doren and David Kemp ## Related Content: [Is Trump Deregulating?](https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/free-thoughts/is-trump-deregulating-with-peter-van-doren), Free Thoughts Podcast [Can Science Save Us?](https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/free-thoughts/can-science-save-us), Free Thoughts Podcast [Is Public Transportation Worth It?](https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/free-thoughts/is-public-transportation-worth-it-with-peter-van-doren), Free Thoughts Podcast [The Covid-19 Economy](https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/free-thoughts/the-covid-19-economy), Free Thoughts Podcast