Re: That paper

[Myron Tribus <mtribus@home.com>]

At 11:18 PM -0700 10/5/00, Jonathan Siegel wrote a brief analysis of 
how market forces do, and do not, produce advances in the drug 
industry.  His post came just as I was finishing reading the book, 
"Blaming the Brain -- The Truth abut Drugs and Mental Health". 
(Elliot S. Valenstein, The Free Press, 1998)  I was reading the book 
because I wanted to know more about the connection between drugs 
(such as ritalin) and cognitive modifiability ( a non-drug approach 
to helping people use their brains more skillfully).  I did not learn 
much about my original question but I did learn a great deal about 
the issue Jonathan raises.

According to evidence presented in the book, the sale of drugs for 
helping people with mental problems (depression, anxiety, etc.) is 
guided entirely by the profit motive and health has very little to do 
with it.  The premise of the author is that scientific knowledge 
about how these drugs work is sketchy and often self contradictory. 
He maintains that there is no adequate theory to support the claims 
and in the absence of theory, drug salesmen are free to make all 
sorts of claims.  The book documents how often a drug company will 
have a drug and then promote the disease it is said to cure.

This book, and other experiences, cause me to join with quite a few 
others (such as George Soros) in questioning if the continual 
emphasis on "market forces" as the proper arbiter of what should 
happen in the world will lead us where we would like to be.


Myron Tribus,  350 Britto Terrace,  Fremont, CA 94539
Ph:510 651 3641  Fax: 510 656 9875   e-mail: mtribus@home.com
Speak only if you can improve on the silence.
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