Wednesday in the Age of Reason-Munchausen (1988)

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/02/400-million-locked-down-in-china-to-fight-coronavirus.html

In a totalitarian system, if the “leader” believes [and it is a non-evidence based belief in my opinion] that “traditional medicine” is “real medicine”, then the “medical system” will get lots of people dead over the long haul and sometimes very many dead over the short haul.

“The human capital deficiencies are compounded by government priorities. Buoyed by nationalistic support from Chairman Xi Jinping to traditional Chinese medicine, it occupies the second largest market share of the retail drug market behind chemical pharmaceuticals 29% to 43%. Leaving aside the weak evidence of traditional Chinese medicine efficacy in clinical trials, it diverts enormous resources from mainline medical service delivery and research at the altar of nationalistic sentiment. Addressing major public health challenges are better targets for public spending than boosting nationalist fervor.”

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