Prescient and Possible: The Excitement and Agita of Living in Interesting Times

  • CMPI | by: Peter Pitts |
  • 10/21/2025 12:00 AM

Prescient and Possible. Even in times of upheaval, there is opportunity. In fact, it is in exactly such an environment that the status quo gets challenged and paradigms shift. This is what the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter called "creative destruction" (the process by which new innovations replace and make obsolete older innovations). This is precisely what we need (and should embrace) in our quest to improve and advance our healthcare ecosystem. The good news is that we live in a moment ripe with potential. It is up to us to unlock it. As the Great Communicator himself (Ronald Reagan) said, "Status quo, you know, is Latin for 'the mess we're in.'" The articles, letters, and essays in this book all look to the future. Alas - it's all just rhetoric unless we act boldly, thoughtfully, with heart and alacrity. It's time to break some china (the tableware, not the nation). In the words of Pierre Trudeau, "Let us overthrow the totems, break the taboos. Or better, let us consider them cancelled. Coldly, let us be intelligent."
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