Similarly, in an effort to stop the 1824 rebellion from spreading further Mehmed Ali wrote to the governor of Isna in Upper Egypt ordering him to hang some of the elderly or disabled villagers at the entrances of their villages to be a deterrent to others. The choice of the elderly and disabled was explained by saying that “they were useless and could not perform any task.”

QUESTION: The utilitarian justification — that the elderly were 'useless' — reveals how Mehmed Ali's state valued human life purely by productive capacity. Worth tracing this logic further. XREF: Connects to the earlier claim at loc 675 about public punishment reasserting sovereign authority, and loc 669 about masking power's mechanisms. This is exemplary punishment escalated to deterrence against rebellion. Builds on: "Public punishment reasserted the sovereign's momentarily injured authority."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 677