Quote:
Originally Posted by Spexxvet
In both World Wars, the gubmint needed new weapons, like tanks and planes, and contracted private industry to develop them. I'd call that promoting R&D and new technology.
|
A little in WW I, but mostly just awarding contracts to the companies/people that came up with things they could use. As soon a the war was over, not so much. In WW II, big time. They took over practically all R&D and production for the war effort.
At the end of the war, the ramping up of the cold war sparked some R&D but that was mostly grants to collages to research what ever the hell they wanted. Sometimes it produced good stuff, but just as often it was the sex life of frogs in Guatemala.
It didn't really take off until DARPA geared up in the early 70s, which threw so much money around, it got so nobody wanted to fund research, because they could get it from the Feds for almost any field. Granted, they've gotten some great returns on some of it, but a lot of it just ended up making a few people very rich on our dime.
However to say all, or even a majority, of our progress was government funded is ludicrous. The antithesis of free enterprise, and make us more under control of the government.