Analytical Paper on article ‘Global Apartheid: AIDS and Murder by Patent’
The article discusses the demonstration of Global Apartheid by the countries and United Nation. Apartheid, the social philosophy in South Africa appears to be adopted globally and the economic and social status of the people is given importance instead of their lives. This paper analyzes the article on Global Apartheid and establishes the key points shared by author and continues with critically analyzing the article in the global context. The article raises some fresh and valid issues which requires the attention of the global social institutions and discusses the differentiation on the basis of race, gender, origin and location. The impact of international economy on apartheid is also discussed in the article and is analyzed in this paper.
Murder by patent, as stated by the authors in the article points out towards the reality that people suffering from HIV/AIDS in South Africa do not have access to economical life-saving drugs and are forced to buy expensive medicine because the pharmaceutical companies providing the medicine has decided to do business and earn profit from the sale of its medicine in South Africa. The murder by patent is the fresh term coined by Booker and Minter which addresses the pharmaceutical companies and has the meaning that pharmaceutical companies have taken patents of the formulas of lifesaving drugs and hence, presently only they can manufacture those drugs and hence, are free to decide the prices of the drugs, giving them a monopoly situation. The country has more than 4 million people with HIV/AIDS and is a profitable market for the pharmaceutical companies manufacturing lifesaving medicines. Apartheid, the social philosophy of South Africa is well reflected in the actions of big pharmaceutical companies when they file a lawsuit against the South African government to block the implementation of the law of 1997 which enables the South African people to procure the lifesaving medicine a little easier. Though the pharmaceutical company had to withdraw their lawsuit due to the global protest of their action, the action demonstrates the reality of the social responsibility campaigns which the company carries out for HIV/AIDS people.
Apartheid is the term originated in South Africa and is the social philosophy of the country. This philosophy forces economic, racial and social segregation on the people of South Africa. The article links apartheid with lifesaving drugs with authors stating that availability of lifesaving drugs is driven by the race, gender, class and geography. Worldwide pattern of death from AIDS also reinforces this pattern as out of total 3 million deaths, 2.4 million happened in South Africa, a poor country and only 20,000 in US in minor communities. Hence, the death rate country-wise and its positive correlation to the economic status and race is well reflected in the proportion of deaths country-wise and further to the economic and social class in the country.
Any other disease has not been able to display such vivid reality of the world still being unequal in terms of their treatment of people and dividing them on the basis of racial, social and economic status. The injustice to less privileged people is clearly visible in the case of people suffering with HIV/AIDS; hence the term Global Apartheid fits to the situation aptly. The rules of human rights alter with the race and class of the individual and a specified class of other people are given unfair treatment as the definitions of human rights changes in their context. The article through these statements tries to shed light on the actual condition of the human rights in relation to the less privileged people. These people are treated unequally by the institutions and the companies, including governments sometimes. The irony of the situation is that those institutions which pledges to word towards the betterment of such special classes became the source of injustice and inequality and are not able to restrain the unfair treatment given to the people.
Global apartheid marks the unacceptable state of global democracy and justice in their present status and defines fundamentally unacceptable aspects of the present system. The need to eliminate the global apartheid is significant if the global justice and equality has to be preserved. The global meetings and the summits to discuss the several aspects of world business, including AIDS commencing from July would shape the future of apartheid and its impact on HIV/AIDS.
The article definitely raises some valid points like the need of elimination of global apartheid and the human rights are differential based on the race and class, it follows an emotional tone. The article expresses dissatisfaction from the present international social and economic order. Booker and Minter are arguing about the globalization in terms of racism and HIV/AIDS and putting forth the evidence of inequality towards a specific race which, though appears to be a valid point is still not justified owing to the strong emotions represented throughout the article. International economy, emerging and undergoing alterations definitely have impact on and are impacted by several factors and race could be one of the factors, however the consideration of the same is required to be done by rational presentation of the facts. The article, through its tone and expression seeks to raise the concern and draws a bleak picture of the South African people with HIV/AIDS.
The article discusses the injustice and unfair treatment by institutions of the people and describes international politics economy as the precursor of the undemocratic institutions responsible for the economic inequality and is global apartheid, seeks to gather the attention of activists. The article is required to state the facts more clearly to facilitate understanding to the reader about undemocratic institutions becoming the global apartheid.
Global apartheid, the term derived from apartheid is an effective term which brings in light the issues of inequality and racism. The article discusses global apartheid in concern to the people with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The lawsuit from Pharma Company to safeguard its huge revenue originating from South Africa is the resultant of apartheid, prevalent in South Africa. The article shares the concern of the HIV/AIDS people and the rationale behind the death of the people with HIV/AIDS. The article opposes the internal politics economy and describes the economic inequality a resultant of it, implemented by the undemocratic institutions. The objection to current international economy in context of race deserves the debate based on rational points, whereas the article only initially puts forth some rational and acceptable points and then adopts an emotional tone. The article initiates with attacking pharmaceutical companies for causing murder by patent to illustrate the expensive cost of lifesaving drugs in South Africa for HIV/AIDS patients.