Government involvement in research is another matter. Some research is so economically risky and expensive that there is an argument that the government has a useful niche there, because private companies cannot capture all of the benefits of such research that pays off (ie, there are positive economic externalities). Ditto with subsidizing certain university research.
One must try to avoid mixing up apples and oranges.
One must try to avoid mixing up apples and oranges.The fact remains, laissez-faire free traitors are fundamentally lazy, technophobic luddites. They deem it "more efficient" to invest in mundane low-cost, antiquated, unsafe and pollution-belching production facilities overseas where their operation is still permitted.