✅這個產業的興起，要回溯到1980及1990年代愛滋病疫情高峰期。當時許多末期病患面臨龐大的醫療費用，出售保單成為他們獲取現金的重要途徑，用以支付治療、住宿及臨終照護。
✅viatical 一詞源於拉丁文 viaticum，意指「旅人所需的補給與盤纏」，象徵著對生命末期患者的支持與陪伴。然而，隨著抗病毒藥物的問世，這類投資逐漸轉型，重心轉向針對老年人的保單買賣。
圖片出處：Sandel, Michael J. （2012）What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
「保單貼現」美其名是「有尊嚴地走完人生」，但這項交易的背後，卻隱藏著深刻的道德爭議：
1️⃣Is it morally acceptable to profit from someone’s impending death?
（中譯：從他人即將死亡中獲利，是否合乎道德？）
2️⃣Does commodifying mortality distort our ethical relationships and societal values?
（中譯：當死亡被商品化，是否扭曲我們的倫理關係與社會價值？）
3️⃣What happens when market mechanisms replace empathy and civic responsibility?
（中譯：當市場機制取代同理心與公民責任時，我們失去了什麼？）
🤔These very questions are at the heart of what philosopher Michael J. Sandel explores in his book, What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets (2012). In the section titled "VIATICALS: YOU BET YOUR LIFE" from Chapter 4, the author explores the unsettling moral terrain of markets that profit from death. Using viatical settlements as an example, he critiques how market logic can turn death into a speculative investment, infiltrating domains that were once personal and moral.
（中譯：這些問題，正是哲學家麥可．桑德爾在《錢買不到的東西：金錢與正義的攻防》一書中，所探討的核心。第4章中的〈人壽保單轉售：你拿生命下注〉一節，作者探討死亡成為投資標的所引發的道德困境。他以「人壽保單轉售」為例，評論市場邏輯如何將死亡變成一種投機性投資，滲透到原本屬於個人與道德的領域。）
🤔Sandel specifically highlights how this market can create "perverse incentives"—for instance, investors might financially benefit from a patient's premature death. He questions whether we are eroding human dignity and social compassion when life and death are assigned a price.
（中譯：桑德爾特別點出，這種市場可能產生「扭曲的誘因」——例如，投資者可能因病患提早離世而獲得更大收益。他質疑，當生命與死亡被標上價格，我們是否正在侵蝕人性的尊嚴與社會的同理心？）
🤔Through this example, Sandel emphasizes a core argument: not everything should be for sale. When markets extend their reach into areas where they don't belong, they can crowd out important moral norms and change our understanding of value and responsibility.
（中譯：桑德爾藉此強調一個核心主張：並非所有東西都應該被買賣。當市場的觸角伸入不屬於它的領域時，可能會排擠原本重要的道德規範，改變我們對價值與責任的認知。）
✅總結：
在崇尚資本主義與自由市場的社會中，我們容易將現有體制視為理所當然。然而，桑德爾的著作警醒我們，美國現有的金融體制與自由市場機制下，存在著許多令人匪夷所思的交易。它促使我們反思，作為現代公民，是否應更警覺身邊有違良心的市場機制？政府又該如何透過法規來劃定界線，以維護社會的道德秩序？
（英譯：In societies that venerate capitalism and free markets, we tend to take existing systems for granted. However, Sandel's work alerts us to the fact that under America's current financial system and free market mechanisms, there exist many transactions that are utterly bewildering. It compels us to reflect: as modern citizens, should we be more vigilant about market mechanisms around us that violate our conscience? And how should governments draw boundaries through regulations to maintain society's moral order?）
圖片出處：Sandel, Michael J. （2012）What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
