[ExI] Transhumanism and Politics

[Stathis Papaioannou]

On 27/01/2008, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:

> Governments are poor customers.

I don't think arms manufacturers would agree with you.

> Rich people with terminal diseases willing to dump it all into hail Mary
> treatments are terrific customers.  Goverments, nah.  Investors go where the
> money is.  We will end up with really good cars and computer games, but
> relatively pokey advancement in med tech.

If the government provided everyone with free toasters, manufacturers
would strive to make a better and/or cheaper toasters to sell to them.
If the government had its own toaster research facility, private
enterprise could set up a parallel facility, lure the best engineers
to work there with better pay and conditions, and develop toasters so
obviously superior to the free offering that the population would
either pay for them directly or insist that the government pay for
them out of taxes.





-- 
Stathis Papaioannou