Our conversation about Martin Shkreli and Indian pharmaceuticals reminded me that I’ve been having a mental debate with myself for a while. Where better to air my confusion than Ricochet?

As I argued, the case for importing generic medications from India is open-and-shut. I strongly suspect our failure to permit this is more owed to pharma-company rent-seeking and protectionism than to concern for public safety. American consumers are discerning enough to make their own decisions about whether they trust drugs from overseas. If we allowed them to come into the country, rigorous and trustworthy private mechanisms for inspecting overseas drug manufacturing facilities would quickly emerge, just as they have for awarding Michelin stars to restaurants around the world.

But I’m confused about the ideal regulatory regime for medication under patent, and indeed, for intellectual property generally. It’s a challenging problem if you think markets allocate scarce resources more efficiently than central planners do. The legitimate fight between the US and Indian pharma — “legitimate,” in the sense of, “I’m not sure who’s right” — is a case in point.