China could overtake the US in scientific output in two years. Why should you care?
It’s easier to raise public money for guns (R) and butter (D) than for science and education. Science and education investments take a long time to show returns. But when the returns come in, they change everything.
When the USSR launched its October surprise Sputnik, there was the blessing of right wing fear of being overtaken militarily and educated fear of being overtaken intellectually. Presidents and policy makers were able to rally sustained support for public spending to reverse the trend, and a generation of kids grew up valuing knowledge, learning science, and dreaming the inventions you are looking at right now.
The Chinese dragon is far more devious. Not an apparant military threat right now, China’s race to the top does not excite the passions of the short-sighted-right. But it should.
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