Who Should Fund Science?
4th November 2023
There appears to be near-unanimity of opinion that innovative discoveries require public funding of scientific research. A quote from the Lancet neatly summarizes this view: “When governments cut research funding, they are quite literally cutting their future discovery path and hence their future economic capabilities.” The Biden administration has followed suit by asking for a large increase in science and technology funding, which it describes as “the largest ever investment for federal R&D.” This is on top of previous budgetary requests for billions more dollars to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Cheerleaders for such an approach abound. Writers at Nature believe that such an approach will keep the US “competitive.” A statement from the National Science Foundation (NSF) reads, “The budget makes critical, targeted investments in the American people that will promote greater prosperity and economic growth for decades to come.” Science magazine also welcomed the proposal; its only real criticism was that it would be difficult to gain bipartisan support.
State investment in science is certainly nothing new, but what is fascinating is how easily it is now accepted as the de facto means of spurring scientific innovation. Pew polling confirms that, while government funding does not necessarily inspire trust in science, the public is far less likely to trust scientific findings when funded through an industry source. Additionally, 82 percent of Americans believe government investment in scientific research is usually worthwhile.
Government has two jobs: Make people safe and make people honest. Anything beyond that is corruption.