4 ms·
No, politicians are very (street) smart. Science produces results in the long-term, but elections are every x years and a career is maybe y years, all of which
by pishpash 4y ago
No, politicians are very (street) smart. Science produces results in the long-term, but elections are every x years and a career is maybe y years, all of which are shorter than the time in which science will show definitive results. So politicians will just look out for themselves as much as they can. The reason militaries get funded is because it plays on the basest fear in people and the money makes it back into politicians' pockets fast without having to show any more results than a pile of rubble.
You're right however, that nowadays it's structural that scientists request funding through defense, like of course it needs that cover.
- civilized 4y agoRight, the problem is politicians' incentives, and since their incentive is to get us to vote for them, the problem is us.
- phonescreen_man 4y agoSome good points, except the first one. Politicians are mostly not smart. It’s why they go into politics in the first place!
- kentm 4y agoMilitaries get funded in the USA because it’s a massive jobs program.
- pishpash 4y agoBuilding housing and infrastructure can be a jobs program. Science itself (e.g. Apollo program, even though that's dual use) can be a massive jobs program. Being the security apparatus of the world as a pure play though is a choice, and a rather unique one.
- kentm 4y agoI agree that I'd prefer those sorts of job programs.