Does it even matter who funds science? It does if science is to remain a public good. Although noble and objective in theory, science is not created in a vacuum.
Its birth is largely dependent on curious, hard-working and wealthy people. Now during history these roles became specialized. Whoever had the money didn’t necessarily had the patience to toil in for a noble purpose, but still wanted to enjoy feeling good about himself by supporting such endeavors, so some people discovered the laws of nature and other people funded them. Ivory towers sprang up and everyone was happy with the status quo.
The 20th century came in and the Internet became the tool of democracy in the developed world and part of the developing one.
Scientists started developing science blogs, getting instant feedback on their ideas and participating in crowdfunding projects. Not only this, they learnt to bypass the slow bureaucracy by accepting money from rich persons who may have a shady understanding on the scientific method, its possibilities and limitations. After a short history of state funding through non-refundable grants, philanthropic funding is getting a second chance. There comes a time when money is plenty and what better way to feel good about it than donating (part of) it to a worthwhile scientific project? It’s a win-win situation for the scientists and for the funders – but what about the lay public?
Many such moguls fund applied medical research to the detriment of basic research in medicine and other sciences. Sometimes they invest money instead of awarding grants – and who can blame them? Although science started off as a public good, many of its developments are patentable today. The laws of physics are not patentable, and neither do individual genes, but medical drugs certainly are. Whoever funds their research and development may rightfully restrict their usage according to economic criteria only. Even with the right legislation and medical insurance, the well-off still live better and longer today and the gap could only increase.
Is there something each of us can do about? Can the average person fund sound projects and benefit from them when in need?
Although life extension research has a lot to gain from the rich and famous, we can do our share too. There are two places where you can find cryonics, mind uploading, applied gerontology and other controversial research projects to fund:
1 the websites of the non-profits
2 the crowdfunding websites
Science needs time, money and most of all dedicated people. The good thing today is that we can all contribute without neglecting our families and careers. Just like most people dedicate some hours for religious activities, so could scientific ones become a mainstay for the average person.
So who should fund science for the most good delivered? Is it the State? Should the rich and famous take the plunge? Should each of us develop a habit of periodically supporting worthwhile research projects?
If you enjoyed this article, sign up to receive more useful posts in your mailbox in order to enjoy your life and your autonomy for as many years as possible!
Share the article with your friends and stay tuned as I am preparing a book release on adopting calorie restriction without feeling deprived!
Interesting thoughts!
The issue I usually have when wanting to support a good cause, is there are just so many to choose from. Where to start? Financially, I cannot give money to all the different projects or charities, so I choose one or two that has some personal significance to me – sadly, scientific research isn’t generally top of my list… and maybe that’s because I feel it should be government funded? I’m not sure. Personally, I tend to give to animal welfare charities, sanitation awareness, poverty or to help homeless people – and maybe aspect of these charities include some scientific research, but I’ve never considered, just helping to fund a specific research project, and I have a science degree. The exception is cancer research – again, for personally reasons I’ve chosen this charity. Maybe I’ll think differently in the future 🙂