7 ms·

They are directly comparable. New drugs don't materialize out of thin air any more than the iPhones or any other applications of basic internet protocols did.

They are directly comparable. New drugs don't materialize out of thin air any more than the iPhones or any other applications of basic internet protocols did. Imagine if in the early 90s we had stiffed cellular phone technology because "only the rich have access to it" or general internet/network technology because "only banks and giant corporations have access to it." Thanks to capitalism, the technology is now so permeates all sectors of society that some have argued that access it that internet access and smart phones are a human right that should be socialized by the government.

JulianMorrison 11y ago
New drugs come from universities, and from people motivated by the combination of public-spiritedness and academic success. Tax would pay their grants, tax would fund the trials, and tax would fund the production and packaging. Do roads and public water sanitation materialize out of thin air?
- mason240 11y ago
  I'm confused why would think that roads (a basic network utility) are comparable to IT applications that use use a basic network utility. IT applications are to the internet what food delivery, personal transportation or freight transportation are to roads. Researching drugs or developing IT applications are not basic commodities.
- dlss 11y ago
  > New drugs come from universities, and from people motivated by the combination of public-spiritedness and academic success. Ahh, hmm, I'm wanting to ask if you know anyone working on drugs without sounding rude. In my experience they are like doctors. Lilly researchers do enjoy the thought of helping people, but mostly in the abstract. In the concrete they like complaining about people and regulation :) they also very much like living the "good life". I'm not saying we'd lose all drug researchers if it were nationalized, but I do think we'd lose a lot of them -- at the end of the day, most people do want money, and end up being motivated to pursue careers which are financially rewarded. A full time doctors without borders just wouldn't work IMO. As to the claim that drugs come from universities... You can take an interesting research finding and turn it into a potential drug... but there's a tremendous amount of work remaining, which isn't particularly interesting / researchy, and still requires someone very smart to do it. Essentially the more financially motivated people in academia are the ones who volunteer for what is often a fool's errand (a failed drug). I think the "new drugs come from universities" position is also true in the sense that "biologists get degrees from university" -- but as others pointed out, that sense is true for all industries.

JulianMorrison 11y ago

New drugs come from universities, and from people motivated by the combination of public-spiritedness and academic success. Tax would pay their grants, tax would fund the trials, and tax would fund the production and packaging. Do roads and public water sanitation materialize out of thin air?

mason240 11y ago
I'm confused why would think that roads (a basic network utility) are comparable to IT applications that use use a basic network utility. IT applications are to the internet what food delivery, personal transportation or freight transportation are to roads. Researching drugs or developing IT applications are not basic commodities.
dlss 11y ago
> New drugs come from universities, and from people motivated by the combination of public-spiritedness and academic success. Ahh, hmm, I'm wanting to ask if you know anyone working on drugs without sounding rude. In my experience they are like doctors. Lilly researchers do enjoy the thought of helping people, but mostly in the abstract. In the concrete they like complaining about people and regulation :) they also very much like living the "good life". I'm not saying we'd lose all drug researchers if it were nationalized, but I do think we'd lose a lot of them -- at the end of the day, most people do want money, and end up being motivated to pursue careers which are financially rewarded. A full time doctors without borders just wouldn't work IMO. As to the claim that drugs come from universities... You can take an interesting research finding and turn it into a potential drug... but there's a tremendous amount of work remaining, which isn't particularly interesting / researchy, and still requires someone very smart to do it. Essentially the more financially motivated people in academia are the ones who volunteer for what is often a fool's errand (a failed drug). I think the "new drugs come from universities" position is also true in the sense that "biologists get degrees from university" -- but as others pointed out, that sense is true for all industries.