The Devil of Economic Fundamentalism

by Javed Jamil

there is one field in which the modern civilization may claim to have actually benefited mankind, it is the field of medicine. Certainly, there are many diseases that have now become treatable or preventable, namely, the infectious diseases like Tuberculo­sis, Cholera, Leprosy, Meningitis, Smallpox, Measles, Poliomyelitis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, etc. But, economic fundamentalism has largely undone the great work done by the medical scien­tists by making the people adopt a lifestyle that makes them susceptible to a large number of ailments -- Chronic Bronchitis, Buerger’s disease, Ischaemic Heart Diseases, Hypertension, Pep­tic Ulcer, Diabetes mellitus, Cancers, especially of lung, mouth and breast, Arthritis, Spondylitis, Cirrhosis, Syphilis, Gonorrhoea, AIDS, Psychoses and neuroses, and many other. It is indeed difficult to infer if man today actually faces less threat to his health than in the past. Whatever increase in the average age has been noticed in the last few decades is chiefly, due to reduced Infant Mortality Rate. This reduction is counter-balanced by the high rate of foeticide; more children are killed every year by way of abortion than are saved by vac­cines and antibiotics.

  In conclusion, the balance sheet of the modern world's achievements is not at all encouraging. It is in fact greatly depressing, because with the scientific knowledge and technical know-how that the world possesses, man must have been physically healthier, socially safer and mentally more peaceful. But he is not; and this is because economic fundamentalism has been rapidly destroying whatever the world has been gaining through the labour and dedication of scientists. The civilization the modern world boasts of is in truth in a moribund state. It is therefore very much a pertinent question: are we not living in darker age than the “dark ages”?