Comment by octopoc
4 hours ago
Without temporary monopolies granted by patents, those prescription medications wouldn’t exist in the first place.
4 hours ago
Without temporary monopolies granted by patents, those prescription medications wouldn’t exist in the first place.
Okay? Does that disagree with anything I wrote?
My point was to whether it was artificial not whether it was bad.
We can have artificial interventions in markets, and that can be a net benefit and a good thing.
I’m not sure why everyone is responding as if “artificial” and “bad” are the same thing
Unless we came up with a different funding mechanism. Joseph Stiglitz for example has advocated a prize system for pharmaceuticals, though he doesn't suggest replacing the patent system entirely.
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/prizes--not-pat...
Salk didn't need that temporary monopoly to invent the polio vaccine, which has gone on to be one of the biggest success stories of vaccines and modern medicine general.