This is HOW John D. Rockefeller DESTROYED Medicine

Okay, let’s talk about John D. Rockefeller and his impact on medicine. It's a story that goes far beyond simple philanthropy, and to understand modern healthcare, we need to unpack it. We often hear about Rockefeller's generosity, but when it comes to medicine, the narrative gets a lot more complicated, and frankly, a bit darker.

Picture America at the turn of the 20th century. Medicine wasn't what it is today. You had a real mix of approaches: doctors using herbs, homeopathy, and other natural methods alongside the newer, more aggressive style of medicine focusing on surgery and newly developed drugs. It wasn’t perfect, but it offered people choices. Then Rockefeller, already a ridiculously wealthy oil tycoon, steps in, and things start to change dramatically.

It wasn't just a casual interest. Rockefeller saw an opportunity, not just to improve medicine, but to shape it in a way that aligned with his business interests. The key to this was the Flexner Report in 1910. Funded by Rockefeller, this report essentially evaluated medical schools across the country. Sounds good, right? A quality check? Except, it was far from objective.

Abraham Flexner, the guy who wrote the report, was a big fan of the kind of medicine that used drugs and surgery. He basically dismissed anything that didn’t fit that mold. Herbal remedies, homeopathy – he labeled them as unscientific and quackery. The report was harsh, and it had teeth. Schools that didn't measure up to Flexner's standards, which essentially meant schools not focused on pharmaceuticals, lost funding and were forced to close.

Think about that for a second. Centuries of accumulated knowledge about natural healing, practices passed down through generations, were essentially wiped out, almost overnight. This wasn't just about improving medicine; it was about consolidating power and control.

And where did Rockefeller’s money go? It flowed into the medical schools that embraced the pharmaceutical-centric model. Coincidence? Not likely. Many of the drugs being developed at the time were made from, you guessed it, oil byproducts – the very source of Rockefeller's wealth. He wasn’t just shaping medical education; he was creating a massive market for his own industry. It was brilliant, in a ruthless sort of way.

This wasn't just about economics, either. It was also about culture. Traditional healing practices were often tied to specific communities and cultures, and by dismissing them as unscientific, there was a real cultural loss. People were cut off from their own healing traditions and became increasingly reliant on a system controlled by corporations.

Now, I'm not saying allopathic medicine is inherently bad. It’s led to incredible advancements – antibiotics, vaccines, life-saving surgeries. But the way this shift happened, orchestrated by a man with a clear financial agenda, had consequences. We started seeing more and more “iatrogenic” diseases – illnesses caused by medical treatment itself. We became a society obsessed with quick fixes, with popping a pill for every problem, rather than focusing on preventing illness in the first place. And now, we are starting to hear about how diet/lifestyle affects our health. This is not new information, its something that we used to take care of prior to the 20th century.

And that brings us to today. The pharmaceutical industry is a behemoth, with immense power to influence research, regulation, and even what our doctors tell us. The cost of healthcare is astronomical, and we’re often left feeling like we’re caught in a system that cares more about profit than about people.

So, what’s Rockefeller’s legacy in all this? It’s complicated. He certainly played a role in modernizing medicine, but at what cost? He created a system that, while capable of incredible things, also has some serious flaws. It's a system that often prioritizes treating symptoms over addressing root causes, a system where the pursuit of profit can overshadow the well-being of patients.

Understanding this history isn’t about demonizing Rockefeller or rejecting modern medicine altogether. It’s about being critical thinkers. It’s about recognizing that the system we have today wasn't created by accident. It was shaped by powerful interests, and it’s up to us to ask tough questions, to demand more transparency, and to push for a healthcare system that truly serves the needs of everyone, not just the bottom line. It’s about reclaiming the power over our own health and remembering that true wellness encompasses more than just the absence of disease; it’s about a holistic approach that considers our minds, bodies, and spirits, and honors the diverse ways that people have sought healing throughout history.

Thanks for reading The Information Upgrade! Subscribe for free to receive new articles.