Research is the main form of development for human society all throughout history. In the modern era, research can be split into ones conducted by private institutions and public research conducted by the state. Projects in the private sector are continuing to outnumber those done in the public sector, and this trend does not show any signs of stopping. Many are in support of this development, while some think that this expansion of private research needs to be stopped. Personally, I believe that to ensure the effectiveness of these projects, they should be under the state’s patronage.
One reason in support of public research is that they are more likely to be used in the interest of the people. This is because the government is usually democratically elected and serves the people to the best of their abilities. Because of this, projects conducted and controlled by them will be likely to be used in service of the general population. In contrast, private funded projects will be used first in the interest of the company, which may sometimes not be aligned with those of the people. By promoting government funded science projects, we can ensure that the fruits of the research are used for the betterment of the people and humanity in general.
On the other hand, one reason people may believe that private projects should be expanded is they usually have more funding and are better professionally than state funded projects. This may be because states have to deal with maintaining infrastructure and public services and thus do not have the ability to focus purely on science. However, there are non-monetary advantages in public research such as access to experts from all universities within the country, the ability to collaborate with foreign governments, international technology sharing, and access to classified information. In fact, it is actually more likely that a state funded project is better funded than a private one, simply because a government entity has a lot more funding and budget when compared to companies.
In summary, because public sector research is more aligned with the will of the people, and they are more well funded, it’s fair to conclude that state funded scientific projects should be preferred over private research. I believe that measures have to be taken to prevent or reverse the expansion of private sector research for the sake of humanity.