Global Trends in Medicine -
An Advantage or a Step Backwards?

Prof. Dr. Dietrich Becker, Flottillenarzt D.R. German Navy
Medical Director IFBE-Medical School, Bad Hersfeld, Germany



In former times many small states all over the world national egoistic aspects ruled all thinking and doing in arts and literature, in physiology and in economy and in all kinds of research, thus also in medical research and medical care. Significant transboundered processes could not be realized -- on the contrary, they had been suppressed and negated. The last state with the principles of the dominance of only it's thinking and doing was the "Gross-Deutesch Reich" and this state broke to pieces with all the world wide awful consequences. The result was a global misfortune.

But this state was not the last with the pretension of dominance: In the brains of human democratic people, standards and proceedings may only develop as transboundered -- as global -- in those states which belong to nearly the same cultural circle. And also the consciousness of a mission of single big-mighty states might not hinder that ideological cultural values as the gigantic Buddha statues in Afghanistan or never bringing back cultural antiques as in the museums of the Iraq will be destroyed.

It is necessary to think about globalization without thinking about materialism and profit, but rather how to narrow the cultural differences between high-tech nations and the undeveloped states, how to bring the globalization in progress step by step in transforming the mention of both sides -- the high technology and highly developed thinking and the undeveloped mentality of the undeveloped peoples.

But in reality the thoughts about globalization are born out of the view for profits for some industrial states which try to open new markets for their products or new springs for ground elements. The target of further development of the undeveloped people often only is used as a coating. There are differences in development of centuries which cannot be negotiated. The globalization must have its roots in the transmission of new aspects, of new opinions, step-by-step to give opportunity to the undeveloped people to understand the progress.

In all cultural ranges of annals of world history the "Medical Man" ruled his people. But via mystifying celebrations and essential natural stuff remained in sub-cultural nations and in the others medicine developed in relation to the cultural development. In Europe and the United States the tendency of medicine ran via research and the ethics to the endevourance for scientific-based methods of curation for the welfare of the individual human being in relation to the Hippocratic oath. But as the more the materialistic ideologies began to rule the world, the more medical progress deviated from the primary prosperity of the patient to the necessary success for the scientist. In industrial and economically orientated states, entities try maximize their realizable aims up to a real machinery medicine. On the other hand there exist states which try to disencumber themselves of the chains of mysticism and superstition in curative medicine and advance toward up-to-date methods.

In the interest of globalization, the industrial high-technology nations introduce new findings into the undeveloped states though the peoples cannot understand them. And the "Medicine Men" cannot handle these innovations like modern instruments or modern methods in diagnosis or therapy. And for no over-claiming this minimized mental capacity of the undeveloped "Medicine Men" the civilized medicine re-steps to, more primitively, though the medical measures can't be justified versus the patient interests; one may think of surgeons who received some contact with osteosynthesis and use the Fixateut extern at home but some construction created out of wood -- essentially using screws only usable for wood.

Nowadays globalization means the development of advanced techniques which are exported to underdeveloped countries, for getting more admiration but no higher welfare for the patients. Clearly, the most important impulse for development and progress in medicine should always be guided by the principles concluded in the oath of Hippocrates.


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