: Scientific research should be carried out and controlled by private companies rather than governments. Do the advantages of this situation outweigh the disadvantages?

It is true that some people believe that private enterprise should be responsible for conducting scientific research. While this may have some minor benefits in the short term, I would argue that this is outweighed by enormous disadvantages. On the one hand, one advantage is that private companies sometimes respond more rapidly to demand than governments. People who invest money in these companies are greedy to make the most of any business opportunity. Thus, huge amounts of money become immediately available for these corporations to conduct research which might maximize profits. For example, the outbreak of an epidemic such as the corona virus, presents a spectacular opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry. In the search for a cure, the first company to develop a vaccine stands to make a vast fortune, whether governments buy the vaccine or people have to buy it themselves. On the other hand, there are significant benefits if governments determine the direction of scientific research for the well-being of their people. Firstly, they must provide funding for university departments to carry out research according to public need. Advances in technology and knowledge to achieve sustainable development would be used to benefit people, not investors. Thus, research into areas like preventive medicine or to alleviate environmental problems, although unprofitable, is essential. Secondly, as competition between companies is eliminated, the sharing of knowledge through international cooperation among the scientific community becomes the norm. In conclusion, private companies sometimes carry out scientific research quickly, whereas governments up to now have been relatively slow to allocate resources to such research. However, the advantages of placing the responsibility for scientific research in government hands far outweigh any disadvantages.