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Beyond "Abolish The FDA" - by Scott Alexander

substack.com · 2,164 words · saved by 1 readers

“Abolish the FDA” has become a popular slogan in libertarian circles. I’m sympathetic to the spirit of the demand. But a slogan isn’t a plan, and this one is even less of a plan than usual. I used to think that since libertarians always lose, there was no point in having a real plan for what to do if they won. But now that they’ve gone from “literally always lose” to “only lose 99.9% of the time” . . . . . . it’s probably worth having a plan ready just in case. Here are some issues any would-be-FDA abolisher would have to address: Are we also eliminating the concept of prescription medication? There are two different legal barriers to getting a prescription medication in the US. First, the medication must be approved by the FDA. Second, a doctor must prescribe you the medication. “Abolish the FDA” gets rid of the first barrier, but doesn’t specify the status of the second. Do you also want all medications to be available without a prescription? If we eliminate prescriptions, then how d

“Abolish the FDA” has become a popular slogan in libertarian circles. I’m sympathetic to the spirit of the demand. But a slogan isn’t a plan, and this one is even less of a plan than usual. I used to think that since libertarians always lose, there was no point in having a real plan for what to do if they won. But now that they’ve gone from “literally always lose” to “only lose 99.9% of the time” . . . . . . it’s probably worth having a plan ready just in case. Here are some issues any would-be-FDA abolisher would have to address: Are we also eliminating the concept of prescription…

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