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It's a nice theory you got there, but it's trivially false Alternative medicine is a 34 billion dollar industry in the US alone http://mobile.reuters.com/arti

by Lewton 10y ago

It's a nice theory you got there, but it's trivially false Alternative medicine is a 34 billion dollar industry in the US alone http://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSTRE56T6MN20090730 http://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSTRE56T6MN20090730

tomhoward 10y ago
That doesn't contradict anything I said. The crucial difference between the pharmaceutical industry and the alternative health sector is centralisation vs fragmentation. Due to being vast, centralised entities, pharmaceutical companies can utilise mass marketing, lobbying and the perception of scientific validity and government endorsement to get their products into the hands of customers, and can continue to do so even if their products cause widespread harm [1]). But every natural/holistic practitioner is an independent operator servicing a small local area, and must work hard to provide a high degree of satisfaction to every customer every day, and face the reality that a single instance of serious harm will put them out of business for good. The article you cited demonstrating the size of the industry only confirms that for the most part, practitioners are doing a pretty good job. I'm not arguing that mainstream medicine and pharma shouldn't exist, or should even be dramatically changed. I happily use it, and find it very beneficial. But I also know from personal experience and simple market economics, that the oft-touted-here attitude, that most/all natural/holistic/alternative medicine is useless/harmful snake-oil peddled by charlatans to morons, is misinformed and mostly false. [1] http://www.livescience.com/57268-fentanyl-overdose-deaths-double.html http://www.livescience.com/57268-fentanyl-overdose-deaths-do...
calvano915 10y ago
$1.668 Trillion per year for the entire US healthcare industry http://www.statisticbrain.com/health-care-industry-statistics/ http://www.statisticbrain.com/health-care-industry-statistic...

by Lewton 10y ago

tomhoward 10y ago

That doesn't contradict anything I said. The crucial difference between the pharmaceutical industry and the alternative health sector is centralisation vs fragmentation. Due to being vast, centralised entities, pharmaceutical companies can utilise mass marketing, lobbying and the perception of scientific validity and government endorsement to get their products into the hands of customers, and can continue to do so even if their products cause widespread harm [1]). But every natural/holistic practitioner is an independent operator servicing a small local area, and must work hard to provide a high degree of satisfaction to every customer every day, and face the reality that a single instance of serious harm will put them out of business for good. The article you cited demonstrating the size of the industry only confirms that for the most part, practitioners are doing a pretty good job. I'm not arguing that mainstream medicine and pharma shouldn't exist, or should even be dramatically changed. I happily use it, and find it very beneficial. But I also know from personal experience and simple market economics, that the oft-touted-here attitude, that most/all natural/holistic/alternative medicine is useless/harmful snake-oil peddled by charlatans to morons, is misinformed and mostly false. [1] http://www.livescience.com/57268-fentanyl-overdose-deaths-double.html http://www.livescience.com/57268-fentanyl-overdose-deaths-do...

calvano915 10y ago

$1.668 Trillion per year for the entire US healthcare industry http://www.statisticbrain.com/health-care-industry-statistics/ http://www.statisticbrain.com/health-care-industry-statistic...