Prioritize Profit Over People
8# How Big Entities Prioritize Profit Over People: A Look at Monopolies in Key Industries
Profit is like oxygen, food, water, and blood for the body; they are not the point of life, but without them, there is no life. - James C. Collins
Capitalist systems prioritize profit over people, leading to systemic exploitation across various industries. This article examines the food, healthcare, and military sectors, highlighting their profit-driven practices that perpetuate inequality and suffering.
The Food Industry: Seeds of Exploitation
The food industry is a prime example of how large corporations use monopolistic practices to exploit both producers and consumers. Companies like Monsanto have become infamous for promoting genetically modified organism (GMO) seeds. They entice farmers with lucrative contracts that initially seem beneficial but often lead to cycles of debt. Farmers are required to purchase expensive GMO seeds and specialized machinery, only to sell their crops at low prices set by the corporation. This arrangement enriches companies like Monsanto while leaving many farmers in loans and debts.
Similarly, entities such as Cargill dominate entire segments of the food supply chain, from production to distribution. Their control allows them to squeeze profit margins for farmers further and inflate prices for consumers. These practices not only harm farmers and consumers but also lead to dire consequnces. The reliance on industrial farming methods promoted by these corporations leads to soil degradation, loss of biodiversity, and decreased sustainability in agriculture.
The prioritization of profit over fair practices directly impacts global food security and access to quality nutrition. As a result, the exploitation by these large corporations creates a system where farmers struggle financially, consumers face higher prices, and the environment suffers from unsustainable practices.
Healthcare: Profits Over Patients
The healthcare industry often prioritizes profits over patient well-being. Pharmaceutical companies are a key example of this imbalance. Instead of developing medications that cure diseases, they frequently focus on drugs that manage symptoms. This ensures a steady income stream, as patients will need these medications for years to come. For instance, medications used to treat chronic conditions such as diabetes or hypertension are priced at exorbitant levels, despite being relatively affordable to produce.
The involvement of insurance companies and private hospitals further complicates the issue. These entities often drive up healthcare costs without improving the quality of care provided. High deductibles, copayments, and administrative fees create significant barriers for patients seeking essential treatments. Vulnerable populations, including low-income individuals and those with chronic conditions, are disproportionately affected by these high costs.
This profit-driven approach in healthcare underscores a broader ethical failure within the capitalist model. By prioritizing financial gain over public health, the system neglects its fundamental purpose of ensuring that all individuals have access to necessary medical care. This imbalance leads to a healthcare system where essential treatments are inaccessible to many, highlighting the urgent need for reform. Although drugs in the drugstore (like painkillers) are cheap and affordable, they merely suppress the symptoms. Surgery, treatments for cancer and AIDS, mental health consultation sessions, and other medical treatments are costly in USA. Patients are more likely to get reinbursed by insurance companies for drugs in the drugstore instead of the traditional Chinese medicine. These exammples show how the patients are treated as if they are the cash cows for the healthcare industries.
Healthcare ought to be a universal right instead of means to reap profits.
Military Industry: War as a Profit Center
The military-industrial complex operates on the principle that conflict generates profit. During the Vietnam War, for instance, the prolongation of the war directly increased profits for defense contractors and suppliers. This historical example illustrates how warfare can be used for reaping profits.
Nowadays, regions plagued by ongoing conflicts, such as the Middle East, serve as prime examples of how arms deals fuel industry revenues. Companies profit from selling weapons to multiple sides of a conflict, creating a lucrative cycle where warfare is sustained rather than resolved. This practice perpetuates violence and disregards human rights, emphasizing profits over peace.
The ethical implications are profound. By prioritizing profit over peace, the military-industrial complex fosters a system where human lives are secondary to corporate interests. This exploitation underscores the moral failure of an industry that thrives on conflicts instead of peace and ceasefires.
The food, healthcare, and military industries under capitalism reveal systemic issues where profit supersedes people's needs. These practices are inherently exploitative, creating inequality and suffering. In contrast, USSR 2.0 would prioritize collective well-being, ensuring access to essential goods and services without exploitation.
Being informed and aware, we can envision a society where industries serve the people, not profits, fostering equity and justice for all.