ABSTRACT
Most economic transactions are in some sense positive-sum games. But in popular discussion of economic issues, there are often examples of a mistaken zero-summentality, such as "profit" comes at the expense of "wages", higher "productivity" means fewer jobs, and "imports" mean fewer jobs here. It is fascinating to seek explanations for the particular configuration of the American medical system. The American character of individualism has shaped many of our unique medical attitudes and approaches. The influence and consequences of positivism and scientific rationalism had a more profound and lasting impact in the United States than in the remainder of the developed world, even though positivism was developed in Europe. The economic collapse in Europe following World War II limited the resources available there for technological research and development and gave the United States an enormous comparative advantage in postwar science. The proliferation of technology represents a substantial portion of medical expense.
