I agree completely; my nihilistic viewpoint was not meant to suggest inaction. Rather, my point was that we cannot use "ensuring the continued existence of life" as the sole justification for potentially oppressive structures of power, as javajosh was suggesting.

In other words, don't try to sell me on Authoritarianism by saying "well, it may suck for some people but it's our best way of getting off the planet, and that's what matters most."