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I think any attempt at nominating a universal value of human life is ultimately flawed (doh!). There are two important principles that we must first recognise:- 1. VALUE in a market sence is ultimately a subjective thing. 2. VALUE in a market sence is a relative thing. We trade one thing for another thing because we value the latter more than the former. Hence the value is relative. The fact that somebody else is doing the exact opposite during such a trade tells us that value is subjective.
If a device has a 1% chance of saving my life today and I buy it for $1000 what does this really tells us? 1. I have $1000 to offer up as part of this trade.
2. I value this thing more than the $1000 in my wallet. However if I don't buy it then there are a couple of possible theories:- 1. I don't have anything to offer that the seller values.
2. I have a widget that could be traded for this lifesaver but I value the widget more.
Ludwig Von Mises can say it all much more impressively:- http://www.mises.org/humanaction/chap4sec2.asp
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