I wonder how many lives have been saved by petty vices (whether those of the person spared or else those of others who would have intentionally or unintentionally killed the person spared).
Probably not as many lives are spared as lost to petty vices (so long as we include those lives lost to easy exacerbation of petty vices into woebegone vices, as we should). But I don't know. Probably the ratio tips positive at some point with very petty vices - where the only harm is shiftlessness, etc.
Adjacent subject: how many lives are spared by the pursuit of ordinary pleasures (eating, drinking, friendly conversation, and so forth)?
I don't know, but I'll bet: very many.
Warner Bros. may have saved more lives than the Red Cross. Maybe.
