【1010G8月AW小组】ISSUE69【seven斐】

seven_wang07UID: 2854895

Should the government give an unconditional support to the scientific research and the development, as the author claims? I agree with insofar that our government should bolster the scientific research and development to promote the advancement of technologies. However, I disagree with, without an objective practicable judgment of the result, that the government should not place any restriction on scientific research and development.

Admittedly, the technology has acted a necessary role in the modern society. In the process of scientific advancement, there is no doubt human beings are the most significant beneficiary. It can be presented in many fields. For instance, few people would disagree that many disabled people can reach the desire they would live as the normal person by the prostheses, the result from the innovations in the medical technology. Advent in astronomical technology allows us to locate lands that can be cultivates for dealing with the continual increasing population in the third-world countries. All these above were unable to without the hard working for the scientific research.

The government, as the respective of the public interest, should place how to make a better live for public in the first place. The scientific research and development, serve as the necessary steps of promoting new technologies, should be imparted to sufficient support for reducing human suffering and benefiting mankind.

However, a fact that nobody can neglect is the advent of technologies is a double-edged sword. No body would deny that when we enjoy the convenience and comfortable service brought by advanced technologies, we also have to stand up to some troubles, as well from the new technological breakthrough. For example, while some might argue that physics researches who harnessed atom have provided us with an alternative sources of energy and invaluable “peace-keeper”, this argument flies in the face of hundreds of thousands of innocent people murdered and maimed by atomic lasts ,and by nuclear meltdowns. And in fulfilling the promise of “better living through chemistry” research has given us chemical weapons for human slaughter. In short, so-called “advance” that scientific research has brought about often amount to net losses for humanity. If these scientific researches are our control of a correct direction, the world would be laden with not the happiness and peace but endless pains and wars.

Moreover, the resource in possession by a government always was limited. But, no amount of research can completely solve the enduring social problems, such as the violence, teenagers crime, the rapid rate of the dropout and so on, and it is up to our social reformers, the educator, the psychologist, not the scientists, to mitigate these problems. The defense initiative, so called “star wars “, championed by the Reagan administration during the 1980s, was deem to be ill-conceived and largely a waste of taxpayer, and few people would dispute that instead of this initiative, the amount money should have been devoted to pressing social problems of the days, by setting up a after-school program for delinquent latchkey kids, by enhanced AIDS awareness and education, and so forth. In fact ,if the government place some restriction on the defense initiative ,what we gain is impossible to be the rampant gang violence, an AIDS epidemic and a unprecedented federal budget deficit.

In conclusion, the restrictions placed by government on scientific research should be judged according to the different nature of various research projects. Any government, whether communist or democratic, represents political and coercive force. All government tends to be deployed to serve the public interest, and also to deal with things that threaten the very survival of the people. The government should inspire the scientific research, whose purposes are making positive contributions to human beings. On the contrary, the thing has to do with some meaningless scientific research is not only place the strict restriction but also stem them in time.