Getty Images Bank The United States is currently experiencing chaos due to the abuse of opioid painkillers. Opioids were originally powerful narcotic painkillers that had to be prescribed with caution in cases of severe symptoms, but they were spread on a large scale by Purdue Pharma, a large pharmaceutical company that was only interested in making money.
Purdue Pharma even manipulated test results in order to sell more of the opioid pill ‘Oxycontin‘ they made. Aggressive marketing and large-scale incentive campaigns encouraged doctors to easily prescribe OxyContin, and as a result, the United States is now facing the dire consequences of the narcotic painkiller crisis. How could something so absurd happen in American society? When and where did the large-scale epidemic begin?
A book published in the United States in early October points out that opioid abuse is the ‘revenge’ of the tipping point. This is the first book that Malcolm Gladwell, who rose to stardom with the book, released after 25 years. Malcolm Gladwell decided to write a revised edition for the 25th anniversary of Tipping Point, but then he acknowledged that some of his theories needed revision and deletion, and presented a completely new book.
Basically, while supplementing the three laws of pandemics such as ‘the law of small numbers’, ‘stickiness factor’, and ‘power of context’ introduced in , we introduce three additional factors that cause massive pandemics to explode in modern society. They are ‘Overstory (community values that govern the way people behave)’, ‘Superspreader (superspreader of powerful influence)’, and ‘Magic Third (magic third)’.
Malcolm Gladwell emphasizes that the moment an idea, product, or message or action crosses a critical point, it spreads like a virus. The opioid crisis is a prime example of how some forces can spread a large-scale epidemic.
Purdue Pharma targeted Miami, a state with relatively lax drug regulations and low crime rates (Overstory), and focused on a small number of doctors who were able to prescribe more OxyContin (Superspread), altering the culture of the entire population. I pushed myself to the ‘one-third’ (magic third) level necessary to change my thoughts. The greed of pharmaceutical companies has turned America into a drug paradise.
In addition, the author introduces several cases where negative thoughts or actions, combined with specific social environments and conditions, spread at an uncontrollable rate like a large-scale epidemic. We can once again feel Malcolm Gladwell’s writing style, an outstanding storyteller, and his ability to combine examples across various disciplines.
The ‘Law of Broken Windows’ states that if small disorder and minor crimes are left unattended, they can lead to bigger accidents and more serious crimes. Malcolm Gladwell argued that when New York City used this theory in its security measures to focus on minor crimes and strengthen stop-and-search, the crime rate actually decreased sharply. However, when counter-arguments emerged that this approach led to discrimination against certain races, he admitted that his argument justifying the stop and search was wrong. Knowledge also has an expiration date!
Malcolm Gladwell found the courage to rewrite the tipping point theory, which caused a worldwide sensation over 25 years ago. I updated the theory I used in a time when even internet connections were unstable, let alone smartphones and social media. I applaud the courage of intellectuals.
Hong Soon-cheol, CEO of BC Agency and book columnist
