To be brutally cold: the goal is almost never to save as many lives as possible. Even hospitals don't use that goal. We estimate the economic value of life and use quality adjusted life years to determine if a potentially life saving treatment is worth paying for.
We make these decisions constantly. You make these decisions every time you leave the house. People die every day from things we could have prevented if we had the inclination.
If the goal is to save as many lives as possible, why are driving and alcohol permitted? Because of personal freedom and the economy.
Treating this pandemic differently would be emotion driven.
Containment attempts that.
“Herd immunity” is an experiment that the UK government is going to carry out on its citizens causing massive loss of life for no good reason at all.