The Essential Role of Government in Science Funding

Critical reflections in light of the US debate on government cuts

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“” — with this succinct headline, the New York Times summarizes a development that extends far beyond academic debates and fundamentally threatens the future of American innovation. The recent announcements of massive cuts to higher education funding and research support are not merely footnotes in day-to-day politics but mark a fundamental shift with potentially decades-long repercussions.

This development lends an unexpected urgency and relevance to the considerations in my article “Who Should Finance Science?” What began as a theoretical examination of the optimal balance between different funding sources has now become a practical test of the resilience of the American scientific system. The emerging withdrawal of the state from its historically grown role as the main supporter of basic research calls into question the very model that has made the US the leading scientific nation.

This text examines the looming consequences of this science policy reversal and places them in the context of international developments and historical experiences. The central question is: Can we afford to dismantle the proven foundation of our research landscape — especially at a time when…