Knowledge for knowledges sake is noble, but someone always pays for it out of their pocket meaning that even super educated researchers have to justify why they

Knowledge for knowledges sake is noble, but someone always pays for it out of their pocket meaning that even super educated researchers have to justify why they are worth someone’s dime. This isn’t a capitalist thing, or even a modern idea by any stretch. Science, as far as I can tell, has always been a matter of pragmatism, and science for science’s sake seems like a recent idea stemming from Cold War fears of falling behind stoking heavy investment and public messaging romanticizing science. For all of human history, science has almost always been public ally funded and often for military or otherwise strategic gain. So yes, even the most educated among us have to prove their value, because science isn’t some religious function or human right - it’s a discipline with pragmatic purposes to society.