Indeed, the thought experiment of turning statistical lives into identifiable lives highlights an important point about policy-making: much, if not all, of the appeal of “efficient” resource allocation depends on the anonymity of the victims. Full anonymity explains why efficiency rules – say, leaving the most “expensive” patients untreated when resources are scarce – meet with no protest.
对号入座的想法的确有些荒谬。实际上，把统计生命转化为鲜活生命的思想尝试强调了决策的一个重要前提：那就是决策中资源有效分配的全部、至少也是大部分前提取决于受害者的不为人知。完全匿名的做法解释了效率法则为什么没有引来抗议，比如当资源有限的时候放弃救治诊疗成本最为“昂贵”的病人。