LET'S BREAK THE MODERN MEDICAL MONOPOLY NOW

Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND and

Elissa Meininger
September 29, 2005
NewsWithViews.com "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices." --Adam Smith 1776 When I wrote my book, Death by Modern Medicine, detailing the myriad of ways modern medicine has failed in its promise to deliver services to make us well, I was compelled, as a naturopath, to include a copy of the Herbalist Charter of King Henry VIII in my book’s appendix. While the language of the Charter is archaic, I would like to outline its meaning, as it still figures in the legal standing of natural healers in all the dominions that were held by Great Britain in 1512 when the Charter was established. 

Summary of The Herbalist Charter of King Henry VIII: It is well known that the Surgeons who are organized under their own trade guild and recognized by law, have done nothing but tend to their own lavish financial enrichment, have done nothing to ease the distressed patient, but have spent an enormous amount of time suing and harassing honest persons who have the knowledge of nature and how to use this knowledge, however obtained, and generously minister to the sick. 

It is also well known that Surgeons will not provide services to the sick unless they receive great sums of money and even then, often cause harm to their patients. 

For this reason, from this time and forevermore it shall be lawful for every person who lives in any part of the Realm of England or any of its dominions, and who has knowledge and experience of the healing nature of herbs, roots and waters, or the operation of same, to be free to treat the sick without “suit, vexation, trouble, penalty or loss of their goods.” Interestingly, in Colonial America, this Charter fit perfectly with the general contempt for all “learned professions” the colonists had at the time. This contempt was expressed quite clearly by William Byrd when he said that founders of New Jersey “inveigled many over” by advertising that it was a place “free from those three great scourges of Mankind, Priests, Lawyers and Physicians”. In Colonial America the practice of medicine was open to everyone and natural healing arts were particularly appreciated as well as enhanced by the wisdom and knowledge of the Indian doctors who very generously shared their knowledge of local medicinals with the colonists.

As a result of this distain for “learned doctors”, at the time of the American Revolution, few of them had formal degrees. As evidence these “unlearned” doctors knew what they were doing, the Pennsylvania Hospital, founded with the assistance of Benjamin Franklin, could report half the mortality rate that general hospitals back in Europe reported. 

Historian Daniel J. Boostrin, in his classic book, “The Americans: The Colonial Experience” devotes a full 50 pages to the state of the healing arts and the pro-natural healing arts attitudes the colonials had as well as their respect for the intelligence of the common man to understand how learn how to become a doctor of one sort or another. [1] 

America’s Founding Fathers didn’t just establish a competitive medical marketplace because they didn’t like the “fanciful theories” as naturalist Thomas Jefferson described the ideas of the “learned” doctors of Europe. They founded a competitive marketplace because it made good sense and political economist Adam Smith had provided ample evidence that the best way to advance the science of medicine was to allow truly talented people with bright ideas to flourish without the restrictive medical monopolies he saw in England. While most people who have studied economics know that Adam Smith’s book, The Wealth of Nations, is the outline of our American economic system, they may not be aware that in a letter Smith wrote to Dr. William Cullen, in 1774, two years before The Wealth of Nations was published, discussed, in detail, the failure of the British medical monopoly system and why such a monopoly should be avoided in Scotland and anywhere else. [2] 

Smith was convinced that all trade monopolies were a conspiracy against the public in many ways, including raising prices, which was, underneath it all, the ultimate goal of all monopolies. He also pointed out, especially in his letter to Dr. Cullen, that the political leadership of a trade usually had its own self-serving agenda that had nothing to do with developing high quality future practitioners. 

There is ample proof that Adam Smith was correct that monopoly in the practice of medicine would hinder the development of the best products and services to heal the sick. Up until the 20th Century, there were no medical monopolies in America. Doctors of all philosophical beliefs and training were free to offer their services to the public and the most creative among them, often untrained lay people, founded such great American healing arts as chiropractic, osteopathy, naturopathy to name a few of the more prominent ones. Health food stores, health spas and all manner of natural health ideas abounded, encouraging wholesome diets, exercise and fresh air often promoted as self-help programs and, again, mostly promoted by self-taught lay people. Such ideas were always soundly condemned by the members of the American Medical Association, the trade guild representing the financial interests of MDs who practice what we now call modern medicine. 

Samuel Clemens, who once testified on behalf of the practice of osteopathy so they could legally practice in New York state, also publicly claimed, that without competition from homeopathy, the imported German medical philosophy which gained rapid and wide popularity upon its arrival, allopaths would not have been forced to look at their more barbaric customs of bloodletting and poisoning people with Calomel (mercury), two of the more grisly, and widely used allopathic medical practices of long standing. 

And that is the point of this article. When you have few restrictions, you end up with lots of ideas, have lots of talented practitioners offering all manner of services and customers are able to pick the products and services most appropriate to their individual needs. Bad products and poor service can’t survive in a competitive marketplace. 

At the turn of the twentieth Century, international drug companies, along with the allopathic medical profession, the only medical group that promoted synthetic and patentable drugs, laid out a sophisticated campaign to control the medical profession and wipe their competition off the face of the Earth. With some exceptions, largely due to citizen outrage that forced legislatures to pass health freedom laws of one sort or another, we now live in a largely monopolistic medical system that manages to kill at least 784,000 per year. 

While there have been plenty of dirty names thrown around to describe natural healing arts, and fear-mongering headlines scream that using dietary supplements, herbs, homeopathic products and the like is dangerous, the bottom line is that the modern medical system is failing. Killing 784,000 people doesn’t even cover those who suffer chronic, sometimes lifelong illnesses that destroy all chances to lead a full, productive life from the litany of failed toxic drugs, surgeries gone wrong, mistakes in hospitals, misdiagnoses and all manner of problems that have arisen from a system awash in cash and political connections to keep it afloat. 

Meanwhile, there is NO documented evidence anywhere on this planet that suggests, much less provides proof, that natural healing arts cause harm, much less stack bodies in the street from its use. 

If you think it is time to create a competitive, multi-model medical system so we can restore real medical and health choices, moderate prices and regain control of our own decisions about medicine and health, please join us at our international health freedom meeting in Minnesota.

October 28-30, 2005
National Conference for Health Freedom Advocates
And World Health Freedom Assembly
Minneapolis, Minnesota
www.nationalhealthfreedom.org

ACT FOR HEALTH FREEDOM NOW: Go to www.friendsoffreedominternational.org and purchase "Death by Modern Medicine" and view and purchase the new movie on Codex and Free Trade called "We Become Silent" by Kevin Miller. Proceeds from the sale of these products are crucial to help fund our health freedom action. For state action go to www.nationalhealthfreedom.org.

REFERENCES

1, The Herbalist Charter of King Henry VIII
2, The Americans: The Colonial Experience by Daniel Boorstin
3, Letter to William Cullen from Adam Smith

© 2005 Carolyn Dean - All Rights Reserved

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