The rationing of essential resources in times of crisis: Logan’s Run and the ‘science-fictional’ right to life under Article 2 of the ECHR

We argue that the right to life—for example under Article 2 of the European Convention—has become an increasingly fragile thing, prone to sharp rationing by domestic law and policy makers, almost to the extent seen in certain works of dystopian science fiction. The near-future novel ‘Logan’s Run’ (1967) depicts a brutally austere regime, that is ‘justified’ in law on the basis that finite, scarcening resources must somehow be preserved, to enable survival. Over—population means that human rights are now fictive however—there are neither family life rights nor privacy rights, and human dignity is in short supply. An all-powerful AI ‘being’ governs via algorithms to ration and curtail lifespans, so that no one is allowed to be older than 21. This rule is enforced via ‘voluntary’ submission to euthanasia, and the intervention of a murderous militia for those who do not comply. As ever, patriotic behaviour is key. Arguably, not dissimilar crisis thinking was seen during the pandemic, with various resources diverted or triaged towards the worthiest citizens—those with the best chances of survival—through the use of such things as ‘frailty algorithms.’ Recent UK case law is then analysed to gauge the extent to which dystopian reasoning might be encroaching upon the effectiveness of human rights protections, post-pandemic.