Two thoughts:
Dispersed power protects society.
Informed Consent protects all of us & improves public health.
The importance of Informed Consent is both complicated and somewhat simple. Science proceeds slower than necessary. Why? Because we have decided, as a society, that ethics matter. All studies (today) must be approved by an Ethics Board...and human trials are carefully scrutinized in order to protect individuals because, by protecting individuals...we are protecting all of us.
Why do we do this? For the simple reason that without such limitations, truly terrible and immoral things happen. Here's a pop quiz, for those who are familiar with the Tuskegee Syphilis Study: "WHEN was this study ended?"
Would you believe as recently as November 16th, 1972? Yup. Meaning, wives of the participants of this study were giving birth to syphilis-damaged babies two months after I was born. All under the auspices of the U.S. Public Health Department.
So, here's the deal with freedom. Freedom DOES allow people to do things that are not so great. Even foolish or dangerous, at times. Why let this happen? Why not simply legislate to control people's behavior so that society will be much better, not so foolish, and safe?
Because you can't. No society that has attempted to succeed at the "Benevolent Dictator" approach to governance has EVER succeeded. Why? One simple reason. Humans are in charge of government...and they bring human error with them to work.
Here's the benefit of freedom: Power is dispersed. Meaning, if we all have a little power...we can do stupid shit, but it'll lead to a small mistake. Whereas, if you consolidate power into that "dreamy ideal of a perfect centralized government that will save us all from our individual stupidity," what do you have? A few humans walking around with massive power. And when one of them does stupid shit...it'll create a BIG, BIG, BIG problem.
For those of you who dream of controlling stupid people through increased government control, consider this:
What if the folks who got into power (Benevolent Dictators) decided that vaccines were a bad idea and (to protect everyone from them) these leaders stopped public funding for vaccines? YOU might think this is a horrible idea (and I would agree with you), but you'd just be one of those people who wasn't able to claim their child on their tax form because they were stupidly still buying expensive vaccines. Meanwhile, that Benevolent Dictator's very bad idea would wreak absolute HAVOK on public health in America. Right?
So, would it work out well for you, to consolidate power in the hands of these people? No? Well, what makes you THINK that only those with ideas you agree with will land in these coveted and powerful positions of governance? An absolute lack of historical knowledge?
Dispersed power protects society.
Informed Consent protects all of us & improves public health.
There are reasons for the ethics that our government and esteemed medical institutions have agreed to be limited by.
And they ought not to be tossed in the rubbage bin by impatient and intolerant individuals who have forgotten (or never learned) our recent history and who want a fast and impossibly perfect solution to a complicated issue.
YOUR CHALLENGE: "Find a creative way to improve public health in a cooperative and non-coercive way."
