science is the ultimate tool.
there must be a minimum size for a culture of state/civisation where by useing science it is possible to bootstrap into a full technological force.
North Korea is a good exapmle where they went from legions of bayonet infantry troops, to a nuklear armed state with orbital rocket capability, along with a highly talented cyber brigade, from rice and rifles, just did it.
As has been pointed out many times, the genie is out of the bottle, and wont go back in, and the faster and easier we graple with the inevitable leveling up, of everybody, the better.
For those who fantisise about containment and the eventual reduction of certain societies "back to the stone age" , they are blind to how there "logic" only hastens a new level of societal intercourse.
The problems here are much deeper and bigger than the OP is discussing, it doesn't help that nobody is really wiling to go the extra mile which happens to be the first one for this. A topic for another day.
I think a lot of people are fine with public science existing, they just don't want to involuntarily contribute to it via taxation but would prefer nonprofits and the private sector foot the bill