日期:2026/01/13   IAE 

UN Policy Chapter

Life Value–Centered Economic Governance

Reframing Economic Systems for Civilizational Sustainability in the AI Era

Author
Frank Chen (陳俊吉)
Founder, Global Charity Economicism
GCWPA × NATS Think Tank | IAE Global  

• UN Policy Chapter（生命價值 × 經濟治理）
• UN Policy Writing Standards 撰寫（中性、治理導向、可執行、可對接 SDGs 與 AI 治理），可直接納入 UN Policy White Paper / UNDP / DESA / ECOSOC / UNGA 正式文件。

• ✔ Governance- and economics-focused

• ✔ Directly integrable into UN Policy White Papers

• ✔ Aligned with SDGs and AI governance principles

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1. Policy Background and Rationale

Over the past century, global economic governance has largely been structured around price signals, efficiency metrics, and growth indicators. While these mechanisms have generated significant material output, they have also revealed structural limitations in addressing public health risks, inequality, environmental degradation, and long-term fiscal sustainability.

This chapter proposes Life Value–Centered Economic Governance as a complementary policy framework, addressing the gap between economic performance and civilizational sustainability—particularly under conditions of rapid technological and AI-driven transformation.

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2. Defining Life Value in Economic Governance

For policy purposes, Life Value is defined as:

The immediately accessible capacity of individuals and societies to sustain life, health, dignity, safety, and long-term continuity.

Life Value possesses three governance-relevant characteristics:

1. Non-deferrability – Delayed access leads to irreversible loss

2. Non-substitutability – Life value cannot be replaced by later compensation

3. Fiscal externality – Loss of life value generates downstream public cost

Accordingly, Life Value should be treated as a primary governance variable, not a residual outcome of economic activity.

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3. Structural Limitations of Price-Centered Economic Governance

Traditional economic governance relies on price-based allocation and marginal utility assumptions. However, in life-critical sectors—such as healthcare, education, environmental protection, and social welfare—price-centered governance can produce unintended outcomes:

• Deferred access to essential services

• Accumulation of preventable mortality and morbidity

• Cost shifting from private markets to public fiscal systems

These outcomes indicate a misalignment between economic governance objectives and life-preserving outcomes.

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4. Life Value Economics as a Governance Framework

Life Value Economics introduces a set of analytical tools applicable to governance:

• Life Value Function – measures the availability of life-preserving capacity

• Life Value Utility – evaluates whether economic activities enhance or diminish life value

• Marginal Utility of Life Value – assesses how incremental consumption affects life sustainability

Unlike traditional marginal utility, which often diminishes with consumption, life value utility can increase when goods and services enhance health, resilience, and human development.

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5. Altruistic Demand and Economic Integration

Life Value–Centered Governance incorporates Altruistic Life Demand, defined as demand oriented toward sustaining and enhancing life rather than maximizing short-term satisfaction.

Examples include:

• Preventive healthcare and public health services

• Education and human capital development

• Environmental and ecological protection

• Cultural, spiritual, and community-based services

These domains demonstrate increasing marginal life value, contrasting with consumption patterns that generate addiction, depletion, or long-term harm.

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6. Governance Implications for Economic Policy

Integrating Life Value into economic governance implies a strategic shift:

This shift does not negate market mechanisms but reorients them toward civilizational objectives.

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7. Fiscal and Institutional Implications

Life Value–Centered Economic Governance contributes to fiscal sustainability by:

• Reducing long-term healthcare and social welfare liabilities

• Lowering emergency and crisis-response expenditure

• Improving intergenerational fiscal predictability

From an institutional perspective, it supports:

• Stronger social trust

• Reduced inequality-driven instability

• Enhanced policy coherence across sectors

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8. Economic Governance in the AI Era

In the AI era, economic governance faces heightened risks of acceleration without safeguards. From a Life Value perspective:

• AI systems are legitimate when they reduce life value delay and risk

• Efficiency gains must be evaluated against life accessibility outcomes

• Algorithmic governance requires explicit life value constraints

Life Value thus serves as a boundary condition for responsible AI-enabled economic governance.

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9. Alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Life Value–Centered Economic Governance reinforces SDG implementation by providing a unifying evaluative framework:

• SDG 1 & 3 – Protection from catastrophic life risks

• SDG 4 & 10 – Reduction of life value inequality

• SDG 8 & 9 – Decent work and innovation aligned with human sustainability

• SDG 13–16 – Climate action, peace, and institutional resilience

Life Value strengthens cross-goal coherence without altering existing SDG mandates.

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10. Policy Conclusion

Economic governance that permits life to be delayed, diminished, or depleted by design fails to meet the minimum standard of civilizational sustainability.

By positioning Life Value at the center of economic governance, policymakers can align growth, innovation, and fiscal responsibility with the fundamental objective of preserving and enhancing human life in the AI era.