Exporting disease, making a killing
How pharma lobby uses misuses money to subvert law, opinion and science!
Mental illnesses popular in the US, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anorexia and depression, in particular, are now spreading across the world with the speed of contagious diseases, says Watters, who went about investigating why this was happening although different cultures view mental illnesses through a complex prism of religious, scientific and social attitudes. In short, the West, primarily the US, has been homogenising the way the world goes mad.
Underlying this trend is the western assumption that human beings are innately fragile and should consider many common emotional experiences as illness that require professional intervention. There is also the dangerous assumption that certain types of events in a person’s life, such as being laid off, are certain to result in psychological trauma that requires psychiatric care and medication. Why is mental illness being globalised to such an alarming degree that different conceptions of the troubled mind in different cultures are being overridden by the dominant view and are fast vanishing? (via Exporting disease, making a killing).
View from a bridge
Many years ago, reading The Constant Gardener by John Le Carre, only confirmed suspicions and common knowledge about medical malpractices – at least in India. In the last 10-15 years, it has become commonplace for doctors to get beaten up at hospitals in India. Medical malpractice was, personally, never an issue as I have been off Western medicines for nearly 40 years.
But to see the exploitation, from a distance, by the combination of ‘doctor-pharma company’ is a study in nausea. Western medical system is the single biggest creator of disease! Apart from the cases of Japan-Paxil, Sri Lanka-PTSD-Pfizer, there is the well known case of how family planning activists misused quinacrine in India.
From being highly respected citizens, to being beaten up regularly is sad decline for the medical community.
But it had to happen.
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Who’s amung us
Western medicine, just like everything else, is not without imperfections. However, it is the best we have. There are few legitimate cures to address a majority of the ailments and diseases. If they were legitimate, they would already be mainstream and would not remain alternative. Most alternative medicines do not pass the muster when it comes to multi-center, double-blinded, clinical trials. This is not to say that there are no issues with western medicine. However, to paint all western medicine with a broad brush would not serve any purpose. Wherever there is a lot of money to be made, depravity will creep in. That seems to be a universal fact.
“depravity creeps in”… “a universal fact”
We are so deeply entrenched in a bad system – that the inevitability of darkness is all pervasive.
Perhaps – one day – in a more balanced system, India could develop a more coherent approach towards self healing.. humans and polity, both.
There are three relevant points: -
1. The technical merits of Western medical systems are outside the scope of this article – so I wont go into that question! Except I am putting my money where my mouth is! I have not used Western medicines for nearly forty years.
2. I would like to see how long this ‘best medical system’ will last without State support, subsidy and legal ‘protection!’
The third point related to Galeo’s point – Why do you say one day?
There is an excellent Indian system of medicine in place and it works. Same is the case with Indic polity. It existed – and it works! Anyone who has examined the Saraswati Basin and the Indus Valley cities comes out wondering what kind of polity could make such a system work!
So … the one day bit is completely off the mark!!
I should rephrase and say one day, again…
..I agree the “again” is important.
But no – today is nowhere near that…
Are you suggesting that Indian system of medicine was better than it is now? What markers are you using to make that statement? Longevity? Infant death rates? Any other health markers?
when there used to be plagues and cholera in india during british rule. compassionate(nishkama karma yogis)indian vaidyas would distribute medicine formula for plague and cholera. but british used these frequent famines, plagues and cholera to weaken indian race so that they should depend on them.these pamphlets/booklets are still in circulation. and they still used to make rounds few decades ago.
the same dude who says population is a problem says western medicine is the only system we got. interesting. why doesnt the west Just stop giving us their superior western medicine if they dont want our populations to grow.