And just to be clear, these viruses that became deadlier—they were racking up black death / smallpox-tours-the-americas fatality rates when first encountered, or were they only occasionally lethal to begin with? That'd be good to know when calculating trade-offs, and also whether the precise mutations that make the viruses deadlier were favored or disfavored depending on the mode of that virus' transmission...I'm thinking Ebola causing hemorrhaging which releases infected blood, for example. I could maybe see it being a benefit to a bug like HIV to cause a slightly more toned down version of fhis--something an otherwise healthy host can live with for years, concealing it from the people in his life

Out of curiosity, have you looked into the success rates of mandatory drug testing/treatment/sobriety being a condition for housing? It'd hardly be the first time we've tried making that a condition for benefits--should be plenty of feel-good stories.

I haven't read this work, but the little exposure I did get to Taoism made me think the intent was just the opposite: it's not advice for how to change the way things are/go, it's to adapt to the way they are/go in order to avoid hurting yourself unnecessarily