Re: The Cost of Relativity

From: Bill Hobba (bhobba_at_rubbish.net.au)
Date: 07/17/04 

Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2004 01:43:29 GMT

"Bilge" <dubious@radioactivex.lebesque-al.net> wrote in message
news:slrncfcapn.o7q.dubious@radioactivex.lebesque-al.net...
> Robert J. Kolker:
> >
> >
> >Androcles wrote:
> >
> >> Of course they are not. They are very useful, but what does that have
to do
> >> with wasting money on relativity?
> >
> >For a company that either puts up, maintains or uses GPS, relativity is
> >not a waste. However that may be, no public funds should be expended to
> >scientic work unless it is explicitly and completely for the purpose of
> >making weapons for the military or police. One might argue that medical
> >research for preventing contagions fall under the rubric of national or
> >community defense.
>
> Why should the military or the police be an exception? There is no
> difference between what you see as a justifiable expenditure of public
> funds and what anyone else sees as justifiable, other than personal
> preference.

True.

>
> >Anything else ought to be strictly private. What people spend their own
> >money on is by definition not a waste to -them, the rightful owners of
> >the money-.
>
> Simply by replacing ``making weapons for the military or police'' with
> what anyone else considers a justifiable reason to collect taxes and spend
> public money, your exact reasoning could be used by everyone in the world.
> So-called conservatives and liberals have exactly the same philosophy. The
> only difference is the implementation and choice of misleading cliches
> used to peddle the same philosophy to others who identify with the type of
> individual to whom the cliches are targeted.

Bingo. What we really need are people educated enough to actually examine
the issues and decide what needs to be done (and no one can doubt services
beyond what Bob is advocating are required in a modern society eg health and
education) and how to it deliver most efficiently. Sometimes that is via
the government, sometimes by private enterprise, and sometimes by a
combination.

Thanks
Bill

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