ABC 20/20: 9/14/07

If any of you happened to be watching 20/20 last night, you would have seen it's attempt to establish a causal relationship between the pursuit of profit and the greater good of humanity. Of course, being ABC, its staff only sought to cite arguments in support of its pro-capitalist agenda, neglecting to expose the dire consequences of profit, mainly egregious human rights abuses (cutting corners in design and manufacturing can fall under this category, as humans are directly affected by this practice):

Weapons, designed to kill and maim, yield enormous profits, as do drugs, designed to induce dependency - let's face it, we're far more interested in treating illnesses than preventing or curing them if we can sell more drugs. Atmospheric pollution and the destruction of ecosystems are direct consequences of the pursuit of profit, but don't tell ABC.

What struck me most about this piece they ran is the list of examples they used to tout America's profit-driven ingenuity: Jose Carreras, famous Spanish tenor; the late King Hussein of Jordan; Silvio Berlusconi, former Prime Minister of and wealthiest man in Italy; the wealthiest of the wealthy, all reaping the benefits of for-profit health care. The only "commoner" featured was a white elderly woman whose cancer medication is said to be responsible for her being alive today. When asked how she felt about the merits of profit, she responded (and I'm paraphrasing), "I don't care if someone makes money off of it; what matters is that I'm alive and well today."

Why didn't ABC poll anyone in the inner cities - or anyone else of the working poor, for that matter - to see how they feel about for-profit health care? Why didn't they make any mention of the burgeoning medical costs plaguing the common American? Did I turn off my television set too early and miss all of this? Well, if the last line I heard before commercial was a praise of American ingenuity capped by the words "and all thanks to profit", my guess would be no.

I could continue to cite examples - the tendency of your automobile mechanic to sell you parts you don't need or fuck something else up in your car to keep you coming back, for one - but you get the point I'm trying to make, which is thus:

The pursuit of capital is exactly that, with little or no regard for integrity in design, construction, or consumer well-being, so long as that steady stream of money keeps flowing into their coffers.