State, state and more state. I wonder how does this feel for those out there convinced that the state is just a hurdle to innovation and advance.
I studied civil engineering at a public university and was told "we are being asked to downsize our physics department".
In these conditions, how can I reasonably believe that state is the solution here ?
It's a monorail on two rails... But the funny part is that they label themselves as "deep tech" and the narrator is wonder what that means.
If you know there are EU grants open for "deep tech", all these weird projects start making a lot more sense. They're bleeding the states on silly ideas. At least it creates short-term jobs.
For those of us who are old enough and were born in the USSR, it feels like we've seen how a similar scenario with too much state intervention has played out before. On one hand, we were so proud of putting a man in space before anyone else; on the other hand, we used to hoard a year's supply of toilet paper and other basic necessities.
The art is in the balance.
Reminds me of when Greece won the Euros or when Iceland beat England.
It's almost like a band of individuals doesn't make a team and that sometimes you need a conductor at the helm
Many Eastern populations are young (though aging) and are growth-oriented. Hence the people there lean into the state.
The US, in particular, is all about "never sacrifice grandma for a dollar" which means unlimited dollars are targeted towards grandma. If she says Wind Power is scary then grandma knows best. No surprise that growth-oriented people are anti-state in that universe.
But one of the pathologies you see in government-funded activities is sticking with funding because a group has become dependent on it, long after the effort ceased to make sense. Arguably nuclear is in that category now.
The issue is that the state doesn't have a crystal ball. It's still just picking winners and losers (and often gets it wrong).
It can't predict which technology will be the winner in the end. And in fact it tends to "force" it's choice of technology which can end up retarding adoption of the actual winner.
Imagine if the US government had gotten behind the technology of video cassette recording. It would have gone all in on Betamax.
I'd much prefer the government making it easier for private entities to pursue the research themselves and let the market determine the winner.
Chinese government can do whatever they want, but the result may be two years of Covid Zero lockdowns so that the Great Leader doesn't lose his face, or mass incarceration of Uyghurs because they don't want to give up their religion and identity.
Looking at the current Western politicians, I wouldn't trust them with such massive power either. If you are an American Democrat, imagine Trump having the same unrestrained power as Xi. Is it worth some nuclear power plants built quickly? You decide.
There is a reason China is near the top of the list when it comes to fastest shrinking countries by 2100.