Disease Mongering

It's a new term to me: "disease mongering". But I have to say I keep bumping into the core idea as I think and read about the role of corporations in our lives. The problem is that pharmaceutical companies, like any corporation, need to shift product to continue. However, under the current legislative frameworks, they are really only and ultimately responsible to their shareholders to make a profit and as big a one as they can get away with. So in comes the dubious practices of persuading people that these chemicals are needed, whether the people are medics or us directly over the counter. I tend to feel that the alternative medicine movements have a point where they chastise western medicine for going down the route of fixing problems rather than promoting health and wholeness. The problem with pharma is the structural reflex of that written into a global capitalist system.

So can it be done differently? That's a good question. I suspect the campaign for reining in corporations by reviewing the way that their charters work in respect of widening their responsibilities may be a start. However, the bigger issue is how to devise a structure that is efficient and self regulating which will produce and research the production of drugs etc for the common good rather than for private profit in a way that makes sure that there are incentives to develop and yet not to disease monger. And I'm suffering a lack of imagination at this point. So we are left with reform of charters pro-tem.

I'm very open to having some further thoughts and links on this...
PLoS Medicine: Disease Mongering Collection
Filed in: health, wholeness, disease, pharma, corporations