We are talking about an exceptional case here. The patent owner is a wealthy and extentric agent who disregarts potential profit from selling/licensing/using th

We are talking about an exceptional case here. The patent owner is a wealthy and extentric agent who disregarts potential profit from selling/licensing/using the patent. And even in such rare and unexpected cases the public eventually gains access to inventions - which is not neccessarely the case for inventions kept secret. Basically, the society trades speed of technological development for certaininity of achieving its goals.