There’s a (90-minute) video of Terence Kealey giving a recent talk about whether science is a public good. I do not believe that there are goods that the market can not provide, but Kealey’s research in this area reveals that the argument of science as a public good is not supported by any evidence, on the terms of mainstream economics.
He makes his point early in the video, but the whole thing is worth watching. During the question period, topics such as higher education and patents come up. He gives a great accurate description of Copernicus’ discovery, which is a story that is almost always simplified beyond recognition. And he has numerous other historical anecdotes about discoveries and who funded what.
H/T to Kelsey A.
9:32 am on July 2, 2009
