In this blog post, we examine whether modern medicine leads to energy waste and social chaos, or whether it contributes to extending life and restoring order.
Humans have long dreamed of a device that moves perpetually without any input of energy. If such a device could be invented, it would solve the energy problem, a long-standing challenge for humanity. However, to date, a perpetual motion machine has never actually been invented. This is because it violates the scientific principle known as the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Entropy is a measure of the disorder of matter and energy; according to the law of entropy, all matter and energy can only change from a useful state to a useless state, and from an ordered state to a disordered state.
Jeremy Rifkin, a world-renowned American economist, applies this scientific principle to society as well. He argues that over the past 200 years, far from developing alongside advances in science and technology, society has become more chaotic and disorderly. He even mentions that modern medicine is a factor that unnecessarily increases entropy. So, does modern medicine really consume energy unnecessarily and increase social disorder? And should humanity halt further medical progress and return to the medical practices of the past? I do not think so.
First, modern medicine has dramatically increased the average human lifespan. In Korea, there is a somewhat unique birthday custom called “Hwan-gap.” During the Joseon Dynasty, when the average lifespan did not even exceed 40 years, reaching the age of 60 was a major cause for celebration, and people marked the occasion with delicacies from land and sea and silk garments. Today, however, the scale of these celebrations has shrunk to the point where Hwan-gap is celebrated modestly within the family. This is because average life expectancy has increased significantly, so turning 60 is no longer considered a long life. According to the National Statistical Portal, the average life expectancy of Koreans, which was 65.5 years in 1970, increased to 81.94 years by 2013. In just over 30 years, people are now living 15 years longer. Thanks to this extended lifespan, people have been able to free themselves to some extent from the anxiety of death and feel a sense of psychological stability.
Some argue that modern medicine has contributed little to this increase in life expectancy, claiming that improvements in hygiene and nutrition are the primary factors. However, research indicates that the greatest influence on the extension of Koreans’ average life expectancy has been the decline in tuberculosis mortality rates among young and middle-aged adults, driven by advances in modern medicine. Thanks to tuberculosis vaccinations, the number of tuberculosis patients has decreased, and effective anti-tuberculosis drugs have made treatment much simpler. Tuberculosis, which in the past could only be treated with primitive methods such as breathing fresh air, can now be completely cured with medication alone. Both these vaccinations and medications are achievements of modern medicine, and it is a clear fact that average life expectancy has increased.
As evidenced by the fact that the average life expectancy of kings during the Joseon Dynasty was only 46 years, improvements in hygiene and nutrition alone cannot fully explain the increase in life expectancy. Not only has life expectancy increased, but so has healthy life expectancy—the period of life spent in good health, excluding time spent suffering from illness or injury. Healthy life expectancy rose from 71 years in 2007 to 73 years in 2012, demonstrating that advances in modern medicine have made a significant contribution to increased life expectancy.
Second, thanks to advances in modern medicine, suffering from disease has been greatly reduced. Let’s look at the case of Hansen’s disease. Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It causes hair loss, particularly of the eyebrows, and damage to the skin and muscles, and has long been regarded as a dreadful disease. Leprosy patients were called “lepers” and were socially ostracized; they were isolated on Sorok Island and lost their lives as human beings. Thus, leprosy patients had to endure not only physical pain but also psychological suffering. However, today, leprosy can be detected early and, with the use of the drug rifampicin, is mostly curable. These treatments are thanks to the advancement of modern medicine, and as a result, misunderstandings and prejudices regarding leprosy have diminished, creating an environment where patients can lead normal social lives. In this way, modern medicine has not only reduced the physical suffering caused by disease but has also contributed to reducing social disorder and chaos.
On the other hand, some argue that modern medicine has contributed little to reducing deaths from major diseases. They claim that the disappearance of the 11 major infectious diseases in the United States occurred before the introduction of medical treatments and was due to improvements in sanitation. However, this data was compiled in 1980, before the development of advanced medical technology, and is therefore insufficient for comparison with current modern medicine. Moreover, even though not all diseases are necessarily life-threatening, modern medicine alleviates the suffering caused by common illnesses. This can be easily observed in the very basic practice of people visiting hospitals when they are sick.
Modern medicine also plays a significant role in overcoming congenital or acquired disabilities and has become indispensable to today’s society. Advances in medicine have reduced people’s physical and mental suffering, thereby decreasing social disorder and chaos. If we were to halt medical progress and revert to past methods, that would be tantamount to inviting social chaos and disorder.
Some critics argue that the excessive energy and resources invested in the medical industry lead to increased entropy. They claim that the overuse of advanced diagnostic and treatment equipment causes medical costs per patient to skyrocket. However, the introduction of new technologies inevitably entails temporary cost increases, and since the benefits far outweigh the costs, medical progress continues. Furthermore, this argument does not hold true in developed countries with established health insurance systems. This is because modern healthcare is guaranteed as a national welfare benefit, and systems are in place to ensure that citizens can enjoy these benefits.
Some critics also point to “diseases caused by treatment” as a problem with modern medicine. For example, they argue that unnecessary surgeries or medication prescriptions create new problems for patients. However, this is an ethical issue for medical professionals, and in modern society, patients can now share information with one another through online communities and social media, and hold doctors accountable. Cases of over-treatment can also be reported to the public health center in the hospital’s jurisdiction. Consequently, an environment has been created in which doctors have no choice but to treat patients with care.
Thus, contrary to criticism, modern medicine must continue to develop while fulfilling its positive functions. While some argue that modern medicine consumes energy and increases entropy, this merely demonstrates the significant role it plays. In fact, without modern medicine, there would likely be even greater chaos and disorder. Therefore, rather than worrying about the entropy generated by modern medicine, it is wiser to seek ways to ensure that many people can fully benefit from medical care.
