And they shouldn't be able to get away with such cheap medicines in other countries since it was the US that developed them and that's why it costs US so much.
This is a very complex area, but some simplification makes quite a powerful point about the difference between liberal and purely capitalist democracies - or between the left and the right, if you prefer.
Liberal Democracy
Drug company: Hey government. We need your help. We need you to introduce strong copyright laws to help us to protect our seed investment when spending millions researching new drugs. The free market doesn’t do the trick, and we need government to step in and protect us.
Government: Fair enough. We the people need these drugs developed, so we’ll do that.
Drug company: Excellent. And we need you to step in and protect us, so that we can make obscene profits on the back of those strong copyright laws, because that’s what a free market economy allows.
Government: Nope - you don’t get it both ways. If you want government to intervene to protect your business model, then we get to intervene on a basis that allows us to regulate the profits we’re protecting for you, so that you make a fair and reasonable return, but you don’t take the piss. Call it a negotiation - you need government’s help, and we need yours. We’ll find a fair way of doing it.
Libertarian free market economy
Drug company: Hey government. We need your help. We need you to introduce strong copyright laws to help us to protect our seed investment when spending millions researching new drugs. The free market doesn’t do the trick, and we need government to step in and protect us.
Government: Sure, whatever you want.
Drug company: Excellent. And we need you to step in and protect us, so that we can make obscene profits on the back of those strong copyright laws, because that’s what a free market economy allows.
Government: Sure, whatever you want.
Edited by vimesey, : No reason given.
Edited by vimesey, : No reason given.
Could there be any greater conceit, than for someone to believe that the universe has to be simple enough for them to be able to understand it ?
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