In lieu of a post this holiday week, here is link to a fascinating interview with the author of a remarkable book about the evolution of patent law and medicine in the United States and its consequences. You can listen or download. The interviewer, Terrence McNally, is a college classmate and friend of mine. I learned a great deal!
1 comment:
I finally got the time to listen to this. My utter cynicism at human nature has not been reduced. Obviously however the pendulum can only swing so far in one direction before returning. Democracy is obviously just a co-opted corporate system earning evil lucre by any historical context. Previous centuries had autocratic regimes, kings, legitimized in the background by the church, assuring a certain moral stance. Plato saw a cycle from king or dictator to revolutionary democracy returning to oligarchy and the to dictatorship. Obviously we are at the oligarchy stage. If all public goods are made private and the public hung out to dry then revolution is close, as we saw with the Trump phenomenon and discussed in the podcast. Globally, alzternate ideologies to the anglo-saxon are making a comeback. The US dominance, dollar hegemony, military, financial and legal concepts, including medical patent recognition will be loosened and disappear. Where zhe middle class of the imperial power is destroyed, its ideals and role model role are. 90% public approval for change but no change as corporate lobbyists control congress says it all. Democracy is a dead letter. Move abroad to the worst dictatorship. Perhaps there corruption for small things will be open but obvious moral issues like patent medicine, aka snake oil, will be dealt with at the gut felt level of oour 19th century forbears, tar, feather and ride out of town on a rail, see Huck Finn story. It is sad to see a great country go to hell in a hand basket. Better to start from scratch again, write a new constitution, eliminate corporate personhood, etc.
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