On Wed, 29 Jan 2003, Declan McCullagh wrote: > On Wed, Jan 29, 2003 at 04:08:08PM -0800, Tim May wrote: > > Really, Eugene, you need to think deeply about this issue. Ask your lab > > associate, "A. G.," about why learning and success/failure is so > > important for so many industries. Read some Hayek, some von Mises, some > > Milton Friedman. And even some David Friedman.
I'm not arguing pro strong state. I'm merely saying that the tax funded ivory tower R&D is complementary in scope to privately funded research. If 95% of it is wasted (and lacking libertarian drive in Euland it's bound to stay that way for quite a while), it's still nice to see a percent or two to go into bluesky research. For instance, which industry would fund simulating biology in machina, using approaches such as eCell and Virtual Cell? In absence of state funding this would be limited to mecenate, which is both limited and fickle. Consider large semiconductor houses like Infineon: the hardware markets are chronically so tight that almost no research in molecular circuitry (though 2d crystals of photopolymerizable Langmuir-Blodgett films would result in viable hybrid molecular memories in less than a decade) is being done. Small players are doing better there, but will their funds suffice for them to survive until their first product? It appears doubtful. > I'm with Tim on this (though I've always found Eugene to be one of > the most interesting and valuable contributors to discussions here). Thank you. I like your politech list a lot as well. > The only thing I'd add is that many folks in the technology community > or computer industry who are otherwise libertarian have a bit of a blind > spot when it comes to government funding of "basic research": they like it. It's not my field, but I don't think we have a lot of evidence either way which approach is better. > More than that, in fact, they'll argue that it's necessary. I suspect > much of this comes from the reward structure of grad programs in CS (and > I presume other disciplines), where you win if you get DARPA etc. grants. > The government is seen as a benign force at worst, a boon at best. > By now, everyone's used to it and find its difficult to imagine life > without the tax largesse. > > Also, professional associations like ACM and IEEE argue for more > tax handouts...
