We’d Rather Bleed Forever Than Heal Once: The Screwworm Paradox
North America eradicated screwworms using sterilized flies β then stopped at the Darien Gap, choosing to maintain a 76,000-square-foot fly factory forever rather than coordinate international eradication. It’s the same institutional failure you see in cybersecurity, immigration, and public health: the perpetual cost of defense is always easier to justify than the one-time cost of a cure.