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文明の発展のある段階で，並外れた先見の明を持ったある人物（注：ニュアンスとしては「ある男」）に次のような考えが生じたに違いない。（即ち）自分の子どもがまだ幼いうちに、彼らの心に自分が年老いたときにも生かしておこうと思わせる精神状態を植えつけておくことができるのではないか、と。恐らくその人物（男）は、すでに自分の両親を処分されていたであろう。（注：その男によって処分されたのではないかと想像される。）
At some stage in the development of civilization, it must have occurred to some man of unusual forethought that he could, while his children were still young, produce in them a state of mind which would lead them to keep him alive in old age; presumably he was a man whose own parents were already disposed of.
Source： Bertrand Russell: Power, 1938.
More info.：https://russell-j.com/beginner/POWER15_030.HTM
＜寸言＞
科学技術が発達しておらず、自然災害に十分に対処できなかった時代には、飢饉によって多くの人々が餓死しました。そうした時代でも、多くの人々が高齢になる前に亡くなっていたため、たとえ長生きする人がいても、彼らが「邪魔者」扱いされることはそれほどありませんでした。
しかし、乳児死亡率が低下し、長生きをする人が増えると、飢饉の際には老人は「無駄飯食らい」 という視線で見られ、肩身が狭い思いをしました。そういった時代背景のもとで、「姨捨山伝説」が生まれたと考えられます。
自民党所属の元衆議院議員の杉田水脈（すぎた・みお）氏は、かつて雑誌『新潮45』に「『ＬＧＢＴ支援の度が過ぎる」というタイトルの論文を寄稿し、子どもを産まない女性は「生産性がない」と表現したことで、世間の非難をあびました（ただし、杉田氏は一部の「切り取り」であり、全文を読んでほしいと抗議しています）。
そうであれば、水田氏は、（男女を問わず）高齢者についても「生産性がない」と考えそうです。もちろん、杉田氏自身は歳をとっても「（自分は）生産性がある」と思うのでしょうが・・・。
In times when science and technology were underdeveloped and natural disasters could not be adequately dealt with, many people died of starvation during famines. Even in such eras, most people died before reaching old age, so even if some lived long lives, they were not often regarded as a burden.
However, as infant mortality rates declined and more people began to live longer, the elderly came to be seen, especially during famines, as "useless eaters," looked upon with a sense of disdain and made to feel unwelcome. It is believed that the legend of Obasute-yama (the mountain where old women were abandoned) was born out of such historical circumstances.
Mio Sugita, a former member of the House of Representatives from the Liberal Democratic Party, once contributed an essay to the magazine Shincho 45 titled "Support for LGBT Has Gone Too Far." In it, she described women who do not bear children as "lacking productivity," which drew widespread public criticism. (Sugita later protested that her remarks had been quoted out of context and urged people to read the full article.)
Given that, it would not be surprising if Ms. Sugita also considered elderly people, regardless of gender, as "unproductive." Of course, she would probably still think of herself as "productive," even when she grows old...