what would hinder people for instance to setup an office in lets say south africa and then send the cheap generic drugs to the US and europe?
That's why we have governments and international trade organisations. The job of commerce is to make profits. The job of governments is to promote enlightened self-interest and a fair and just society. These two are necessarily in conflict, and the constant task is to find the best balance between them.
Imo, in this instance the balance is clearly out of whck.
The job of commerce is to make profits. The job of governments is to promote enlightened self-interest and a fair and just society. These two are necessarily in conflict
No they're not. It's the belief that commerce and government must be in conflict that causes so many problems. A fair and just society is one where people are able to act in their own "enlightened self-interest" and potentially make a profit doing so. It's the job of the government to make sure that everybody can do this without hindrance, and to protect the rights of the individual. It is not the job of government to fix prices or to interfere in the market.
Personally, I wouldnt want total freedom.... I want and enjoy liberty, which leads to freedom with responsibility.
If I were rich, maybe I would help get meds to the poor.... who knows. BUT, I wouldnt want my govt or anyone elses govt telling me I HAD to do it. Maybe thats the diff?
FDA regulations are *very* tight but to be honest, I don't think that is the reason drugs are so costly. From a drug pipeline of potential candidates of new compounds, only a few ever make it to market and make money. They have to pay for all the R&D on the others.
Some of the cost, I think, is because they have become massive companies and have a lot of waste and inneficiency.
Expatbrit, if you don't mind saying...out of personal interest what is your field, area of expertise, or what area is it that you have studied in, if at all? V**
A fair and just society is one where people are able to act in their own "enlightened self-interest" and potentially make a profit doing so. It's the job of the government to make sure that everybody can do this without hindrance, and to protect the rights of the individual. It is not the job of government to fix prices or to interfere in the market.
A good definition, except that the only function of commercial enterprise is to make a profit for the enterprises's owner. This is an exercise in brutal self-interest i.e. the objective must be achieved even at the cost of others. Sometimes others may be benefitted, but whether or not they are is irrelevant.
Governments are there to promote enlightened self-interest i.e. the selective sacrifice of personal self-interest (or freedoms) for the greater benefit of the society as a whole.
Sometimes these two can be in harmony. But they are fundamentally different, hence the conflict.
