I find this to be a very interesting idea, although I'm still a little dubious about it. I first heard it from an interview with famous Libertarian [Milton Friedman][1] (whom I adore) in his twilight years. The self-regulating mechanism of a system like this would be tort law, allowing consumers to sue companies if they haven't done adequate research and testing on their drugs before selling them. I have mixed feelings about this because I have a hard time picturing a class action suit being able to adequately take on a large pharmaceutical company with its own dedicated legal department.
Rationally, there is no point in a lot of things (up to and including just sitting idle as a respiring organism). Do you get your sustenance from an IV bag of the basic chemicals your body needs to survive, or do you eat food that you enjoy the taste of? Do you cover yourself with a burlap sap, or do you wear clothing of a design you prefer? Do you get to work on your own locomotive power (walk, ride bicycle) or use a vehicle?
Variety is the spice of life. We do things that we find intellectually and emotionally stimulating.
Thanks so much for the fascinating and emotionally stirring article. I will definitely be passing this on to others I know.
The thing I kept thinking during the article is, "Is there something that I, as a programmer, can do to help people like Bertrand?"
Is there some way that we programmers could use our talent to augment or advance existing technology in this area? I realize that the science involved here is non-trivial, but it seems like a really fascinating subject area to get involved in. Perhaps I just need to bear down and brush up on my biology.
[1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUDV0YII6lk&t=4m10s