By Mike Palecek, author Americans, a member of the Drafting Committee Fightback CMI Canada.
received and returned by
Association of Former Political Prisoners Solidarity and Magellan Tortured
http://wwwagrupacionsolidariaexppmagallanes.blogspot.com/
We are constantly bombarded with the myth that capitalism drives innovation, technology and scientific advancement. We are told that competition, combined the motivation for profit, pushing science to new frontiers and gives large corporations the incentive to develop new medicines, drugs and treatments. We are told that the free market is the greatest motivator for human advancement. But in reality, the truth is exactly the opposite. Patents, profits and private ownership of the means of production are actually the biggest obstacles that science has known in recent history. Capitalism is slowing down every aspect of human development, and science and technology are no exception.
The most recent and representative of private property serving as a barrier to development can be found in what happened with the fossil Ida. The Darwinius masillae is a lemur from 47 million years that was recently "discovered." Anyone interested in evolution, hailed the unveiling of a transitional species linking the primates than lower mammals. Ida has eyes front (instead of side), short limbs and even opposable thumbs. What is even more interesting is the stunning condition which has been preserved. This fossil is 95% complete. The profile of your hair is clearly visible and even scientists have been able to examine the contents of your stomach, determining that his last meal consisted of fruits, seeds and leaves. Mass enthusiasts are queuing up to go to the Museum of Natural History in New York City to take a look at this important fossil.
But what Ida has to do with capitalism? Well, in fact, Ida was unearthed in 1983 and has been in the hands of a wealthy private collector since. This did not realize the importance of the discovery of this fossil (which is not surprising since it is not a paleontologist) as has just been collecting dust for 25 years.
There is a large international market for fossils. The Capitalism has reduced these treasures, which rightfully belong to all humanity, into mere commodities. Fossils in private hands are usually provided or leased to museums so they can study or display. There are collections of fossils that travel the world to make money for their owners, rather than be available for serious study, scientists. And countless alien species expected in stores or investment companies in the salons of collectors, serving as nothing more than pieces on which to talk over a glass of cognac. It is impossible to know how important fossils are just stored, waiting to be discovered in the office of a billionaire.
Medical Research
The pharmaceutical industry is well known for its exorbitant prices and refusing to distribute drugs to those who can not afford. The lack of drugs to combat the AIDS pandemic, particularly in Africa, is sufficient to prove the inability of capitalism to distribute medicine to those in need. But what role does the pursuit of profit in the development of new drugs? Big Pharma have an equally sad story in regard to research and development in their industry.
AIDS patients can pay tens of thousands of dollars a year for drugs they need to stay alive. In 2003, when it introduced a new drug called Fuzeon, was a scandal for the same price, which would cost over $ 20,000 annually per patient. The Roche Laboratories CEO, Franz Humor, attempted to justify the selling price: "We need a decent rate of return on our innovations. This is an egregious advancement in therapy ... I can not imagine a society that does not wish to continue innovation. "
But innovation spoken of Mr. Humor is just average. Drug companies are not motivated by compassion, but for the money. For one of these big companies, an AIDS patient is a patient but a client. The pharmaceutical industry has a financial incentive to ensure that these people are repeat customers, so there is very little research being carried out to find a cure. Most private research focuses on new drugs get anti-retroviral drugs that these patients should continue to take for life.
has been some pressure to fund research to find an AIDS vaccine and, more recently, an effective microbicide. However, the vast majority of these resources come from government and nonprofit groups. The pharmaceutical industry is simply not funding research to end this pandemic. And why should they? No company on earth is going to fund research specifically designed to remove them from the market.
Similar problems arise in other areas of medical research. In the field of cancer, in early 2007 discovered a drug is extremely promising. Researchers at the University of Alberta (Canada) found that a single molecule of dichloroacetate (DCA) can reactivate the mitochondria [1] in cancer cells, causing them to die like normal cells. Investigations revealed that DCA appears to be extremely effective against various forms of cancer in the laboratory and made promises to be a cure for cancer [2] . The DCA has been used for decades to treat people with mitochondrial disorders. Its effects on the human body are so well known, thus making the development process much simpler.
The problem is that clinical trials of DCA have been delayed by lack of funding. The DCA is not patented or patentable. Pharmaceutical companies are not be able to get substantial benefits to the production of this medication, so they are not interested. Researchers have been forced to raise money themselves to fund important work. Initial tests on a small scale, have begun and preliminary results are very encouraging. But two years ago since he took this important discovery and is only now that the studies are starting. The medical school at the University of Alberta has been forced to beg for funding from government and nonprofit organizations. Until this day have not received a penny from any medical organization for profit.
The lack of research into potential cures that can not be patented is not limited to DCA. There is a whole industry of so-called mounted around alternative natural remedies. Many people, including this author, we are skeptical about the claims made by those who support alternative medicine. Richard Dawkins [3] states that "If a healing technique is shown to have healing properties in experiments properly controlled double-blind, ceases to be alternative. ... Simply becomes medicine. " But this black and white vision does not take into account the constraints imposed by capitalism on science. The refusal to fund alternative medicine tests to verify unpatentable has two harmful effects. First, we were in the dark regarding potentially effective drugs. And second, the modern quack quack cures offered false credibility given the few alternative treatments that work.
Technology and Industry
is supposed to be in manufacturing innovation, particularly where capitalism is in its element. We are told that competition between companies will lead to better products, lower prices, new technology and new innovation. But again when inspected more closely we see that serve private interests more barrier that drive. Patents and trade secrets prevent the development of new technologies. The oil industry in particular has a long history of purchasing patents simply to prevent even products on the market.
Competition can serve as a motivator for the development of new products. But as we have seen before, can also serve as a motivator to prevent new products never see the light of day. Firms not only refuse to fund research to develop a product that could hurt their industry, but in some cases will be extremely far away to prevent anyone else can do the same type of research.
The documentary "Who Killed electric car?" Filmed in 2006, goes deep into detail about the role played by the big oil companies, auto companies and the U.S. federal government itself to prevent out to Street an alternative vehicle. The filmmaker says that the automotive companies would lose if they were to produce electric vehicles because of the greater simplicity for maintenance. The auto parts and spare parts sector could be decimated. Oil companies would see a dramatic reduction in demand for its products if the world changed electrical vehicles. It is said that hydrogen fuel cells, which have little chance to become a useful technology, are used in reality as a distraction from the real alternatives. The filmmaker accused the U.S. government to lead the investigation away from electric cars and toward hydrogen fuel cells.
But the greatest accusation is made against big oil and auto manufacturing. The film suggests that the auto companies have sabotaged their own research on electric cars. Worse, oil companies have acquired patents for NiMH batteries [4] to prevent them being used in electric vehicles. These are the same batteries used in laptops and large batteries of this type could realize the idea of \u200b\u200ban electric vehicle. But Chevron maintains its power of veto over any license or use of NiMH battery technology. They refuse to sell these batteries for research purposes. Some hybrid vehicles now use NiMH batteries, but these, although they increase performance, they still require fossil fuels.
While buying patents is an effective way to shelve new innovations, the capitalist system certainly has other ways to stop research and development. The very nature of a competency-based collaborative research makes it impossible. Whether the pharmaceutical industry, automotive or otherwise, capitalism divides the best scientists and engineers from corporations in competition. Anyone involved in research or product development is forced to sign confidentiality agreements as conditions of work. Not only prevents them from working together but are forbidden to even compare notes!
Peer review [5] , or arbitration, is supposed to be a fundamental the scientific method. Many times, great advances are made by individual research groups not only many research groups. One group carried a piece of the puzzle, someone else discovers another and yet another scientific team achieved more than putting all the pieces. How can a system based on collaborative efforts to promote such competition? Put simply, simply can not.
world governments clearly recognize that this is a problem. Every time you face a serious crisis cast their free market ideals out the window and tip the public sector. It has often been argued that World War II was won by the nationalization and planning. Capitalism in Britain basically stopped, so that the war effort could be organized effectively. In the U.S., a nationalization of this scale was not carried out but when it came to research and development, the task was entrusted to the private sector.
Under the fear that the Nazis were developing the atomic bomb, the U.S. government launched a massive public program to ensure that they were the first to get a weapon of mass destruction. The Manhattan Project succeeded where the private sector. At one point, about 130 thousand people worked on this project. Top and brightest scientists and engineers were brought together for this gigantic collaboration. To uncover more about nuclear fission [6] in the space of a few years than had been achieved in decades since the first atom was split in 1919. Whatever one thinks of the atomic bomb was certainly one of the greatest scientific advances of the twentieth century.
Science, Technology and Economic Planning
The strongest proof of the cause of capitalism on science and technology is not capitalism but the alternative. Although the Soviet Union under Stalin was far from ideal socialist society (an idea we've explained time and again in many documents), their history presents an excellent overview of the potential of a nationalized planned economy. In 1917, the Bolsheviks took control of a backward, semi-feudal had been ruined by the First World War. Within a few decades was transformed into a great superpower. The USSR would become the first country to put a satellite into orbit, the first in putting a man in space and the first to build a permanent space station inhabited by man. Soviet scientists carried beyond the frontiers of knowledge, especially in Mathematics, Astronomy, Nuclear Physics, Space Exploration, and Chemistry. Many Soviet scientists were Nobel Prize winners in various fields [7] . These successes are particularly impressive when considering the state it was in the country when he was overthrown capitalism.
How were these achievements? How could the USSR go from having a 90% population illiterate to have more scientists, doctors and engineers per capita than any other country in the world in just a few decades? The superiority of the economy nationalized and planned the break with the madness of capitalism is the only explanation.
The first step in this process was simply to acknowledge that science is a priority. Under capitalism, the ability of private companies to develop science and technology is limited by the narrow vision of what is profitable. The companies do not plan to advance technology, but build marketable products and only make the minimum necessary to bring products to market. The Soviets immediately recognized the importance of the global development of science and technology and linking him to develop the country as a whole. This broad view is allowed to place great resources in all areas of study.
Another vital component of their success was the massive expansion of education. By abolishing private education and providing free education at all levels, individuals in the population was able to realize their potential. Any citizen could continue studying as long as they were able to. On the contrary, even in many capitalist countries have been unable to eradicate illiteracy, not to mention college education open to all who want. Under capitalism, huge financial barriers are erected in front of students, which prevent large segments of the population to reach their potential. When half of humanity is forced to live on less than $ 2.00 per day (BSF 4.30), we can only conclude that large reserves of human talent are wasted.
The Soviet government immediately pulled down all the barriers of science to stifle innovation in the capitalist system. Patents, trade secrets and private industry were eliminated. This allowed a more collaborative research between different fields and a free flow of information between the institutes. Religious prejudice that delay and contain the rational study was cast aside. Just think of the ban research on stem cells under the regime of GW Bush to see the negative effects that may have religious mysticism over science.
Of course not everything was good under Stalinism. Just as the bureaucracy prevented the development of the economy, also delayed the development of certain areas of study. While most of the barriers of capitalism were destroyed, in some cases, new walls were erected as the direction of scientific research was subjugated to the needs and wishes of the bureaucracy. In some extreme cases, certain fields of study were banned altogether and leading scientists sent to labor camps in Siberia. One of the most outrageous was Stalin's contempt for the genetics of chromosomes. The study of genetics was banned and many important geneticists, including Agol, Levit and Nadson, were executed. Nikolai Vavilov, one of the most prominent geneticists were sent to Soviet labor camps, where he died in 1943. This ban was not reversed until mid-1960. These crimes were not crimes of socialism, but of Stalinism. Under a democratically planned economy would be no need for such atrocities.
Today is the task of those interested in science and socialism, to learn the lessons of history. Science is being held by private interests and capitalist industry. The lack of resources for education and research keeps the doors closed to many young people interested. Holds religious interference in science in a cage and declared major area of \u200b\u200bstudy as prohibited. Free-market chains prevent important research can be performed. Private companies are refusing to let out new technologies of their hindquarters. Private collectors hold unique and important specimens for your personal entertainment. Potential cures for deadly diseases are left aside to clear the way for research on drugs to cure erectile dysfunction. This is insane. Capitalism does not motorized innovation but prevents it at all times.
Humanity today is being held by an economic system designed to enslave the majority for the benefit of a minority. Every aspect of human development is being delayed by the so-called free market. With the development of computers, Internet and new technology, humanity is on the brink of a bright future of scientific progress and prosperity. We are learning more and more about every aspect of our existence. What once was impossible is now a tangible reality. What once was a mystery, today is understood. What once was hidden is now in plain sight. The advancement of scientific knowledge will someday the farthest reaches of our universe at our fingertips. The only thing stopping us is capitalism.
NOTES
[1] The mitochondrion is an early cellular organelle that is assigned the role of "oven" of the cell where energy is obtained after the oxidative process that occurs on different metabolites. It also has in its membrane such good mechanisms of the electron transport chain and the ATPase, which enables the transformation of the energy of oxidation in the "universal energy currency of the cell, ie the ATP. View: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitocondria
[2] The article, published in the journal Cancer Cell can be found in http://www.cell.com/ cancer-cell/abstract/S1535-6108 (06) 00372-2
[3] Richard Dawkins is a British ethologist, evolutionary theorist and popular science writer who holds the "Charles Simonyi Broadcast Science "at the University of Oxford. Is declared atheist, humanist and skeptic. Member of the movement is bright and, as a commentator on science, religion and politics, is among the best known public intellectuals in English. In reference to the epithet "Darwin's bulldog" that was given to Thomas Huxley (1825-1895), Dawkins' impassioned advocacy of evolution has earned him the nickname "Darwin's rottweiler." View http://richarddawkins.net/
[4] A nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) is a type of rechargeable battery that uses an anode oxidróxido nickel (NiOOH) as the nickel cadmium, but the cathode is a metal hydride alloy. This eliminates the expensive (and environmentally risky) cadmium while benefiting from a higher load capacity (two to three times that of a NiCd battery of equal size and weight) and less memory effect. View http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bateria_de_niquel_e_hidruro_metalico
[5] In academia, the peer review (peer review in English) or arbitration is a method used to validate papers and funding applications to measure their quality feasibility, scientific rigor, etc. View: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revision_por_pares
[6] In chemistry and physics, nuclear fission is a reaction, meaning that occurs in the nucleus of the atom. Fission occurs when a heavy nucleus splits into two or more smaller nuclei plus some by-products. These products include free neutrons, photons (usually gamma rays) and other fragments of the nucleus as alpha particles (helium nuclei) and beta (electrons and positrons of high energy).
[7] Physics: In 1958, Pavel Cherenkov, Ilya Frank and Igor Tamm, 1962, Lev Davidovich Landau, 1964, Nikolai Basov and Alexander Prokhorov, 1978, Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa. Economy: 1976, Vitaliyevich Leonid Kantorovich. In the field of mathematics, although big names like Israel Gelfand, Andrei Kolmogorov, Nicolai Bogoliubov, among many others are not on this list, several Russian mathematicians won the Fields Medal, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in Mathematics: 1978, Gregory Margulis , 1990, Vladimir Drinfel'd.
Canada, August 11, 2009
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