Get this latest raft of dumbness from The New York Times….

Want Vaccines Fast? Suspend Intellectual Property Rights:

“Otherwise, there won’t be enough shots to go around, even in rich countries.”

The vaccines in question are, of course, for the China Virus.

I personally won’t be partaking – for the same reason I never get any flu shot.  Because I am still relatively young and in pretty good shape.  (Plus, the flu vaccines rarely work anyway.)

I am protesting The NY Times’ Intellectual Property (IP) dumbness on principle.

On March 18, we wrote this:

Capitalism and Its Intellectual Property: No Coronavirus Solution Without It

On December 7, The NY Times’ three authors – two of whom claim to be economists – collectively contributed dumbness like this:

“As some reports would have it, this is the beginning of the end. Three coronavirus vaccines have posted excellent results, with more expected to come.

“But this is not the beginning of the end; it is only the beginning of an endless wait: There aren’t enough vaccines to go around in the richest countries on earth, let alone the poorest ones….

“That’s why it makes little sense that the United States, Britain and the European Union, among others, are blocking a proposal at the World Trade Organization that would allow them, and the rest of the world, to get more of the vaccines and treatments we all need.

“The proposal, put forward by India and South Africa in October, calls on the W.T.O. to exempt member countries from enforcing some patents, trade secrets or pharmaceutical monopolies under the organization’s agreement on trade-related intellectual property rights, known as TRIPs.”

The Times’ three authors miss entirely the irony of which countries are demanding the evisceration of vaccine IP rights.

The Global Innovation Index ranks countries in order of how well they protect IP.  India (#48) and South Africa (#60) – don’t protect IP hardly at all.  By way of heinous comparison – IP super thief Communist China is #14.

India and South Africa’s horrible records on IP protection – are why they had to sit around and wait for the US (#3) to invent the vaccines they now want to steal.

Because no one who invents anything – will do their inventing in India or South Africa.

Because duh:

“Human nature is an immutable force.

“Humans do certain things – and don’t do others.  They behave in certain ways – and not in others.  Predicated upon the nature of the human beast.

“Work without incentive – is antithetical to human nature.  If a human is compensated the same for doing something and doing nothing – he will do nothing almost every time.

“A farmer isn’t going to do all the work to plant, till, water, fertilize, cultivate and harvest his crops – if there ain’t a payoff at the other end of all that time, money and effort.

“The crops are his work product – his property.  He needs to be compensated for it.

“Intellectual Property (IP) creators – are no different than farmers.

“IP creators ain’t going to do all the work necessary to create IP – if there ain’t a payoff at the other end of all that time, money and effort.

“The IP is his work product – his property.  He needs to be compensated for it.”

Of course, The NY Times’ wasn’t the first foray into proposed vaccine IP theft.

Don’t Let Big Pharma Capitalize on Coronavirus

Bernie Sanders Accuses Big Pharma of Seeking to Profit off Coronavirus Pandemic

Trump’s Attempt to Buy a Coronavirus Vaccine Shows Why Big Pharma Needs to Change:

“The president’s shameless bid highlights the need for a drugs industry that prioritizes the public interest over profit.”

But as we noted at the time:

“Trump promising to purchase a Coronavirus vaccine from the company that drops everything else its doing to spend countless hours and TONS of money to develop it – is a ‘shameless bid?’

“Ummm…no.  It’s capitalism.  With all the acknowledgments of – and acquiescences to – human nature capitalism encompasses.

“And how ignorant of the world as it actually works – is asking for ‘a drug industry that prioritizes the public interest over profit?’

“The ONLY way to serve the public interest – is to allow those serving it to make a profit.”

Perhaps the most important thing all these IP thieves miss?

Protecting the China Virus vaccines’ IP is most important – because of the NEXT vaccines.

We Are Surrounded by Intellectual Property – Until We Aren’t

The next vaccines will never, ever come to be – if we don’t protect the IP of these vaccines.

Because human nature.

Because duh.