October 8, 2006 6:38PM # Who Shall Live? Who Shall Die? By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) --- SHARE DETROIT–Over at Cafe Hayek, Russell Roberts looks at [the ethics of distributing flu vaccines](http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2006/10/the_ethics_of_r.html) amid an artificial shortage and does a good job of cutting to the core question: why the hell is there a shortage? Roberts lays the blame [at the feet of politicians](http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2004/10/taking_the_prof.html) — particularly state attorneys general — who have interfered with the market’s ability to make vaccines (like shoes, oranges, etc.) plentiful. The ethical problems created by the artificial shortage of vaccines are like those created by [the artificial shortage of transplantable organs ](http://www.catostore.org/index.asp?fa=ProductDetails&method=cats&scid=33&pid=1441272)(also a creature of government interference). Once the shortage exists, and the state controls distribution, there’s really no good way — no “most ethical” way — to decide who should receive them. In other words, there’s no good way to decide who shall live and who shall die. If it’s ethics you’re interested in, try this: Don’t interfere with the market’s ability to supply vaccines and transplantable organs. But as long as we’ve got these artificial shortages, my two cents is this: the politicians should be last in line. ##### Related Tags [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).