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From: tmoran@acm.org
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: Way OT: Adam Smith and Software Markets
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> Of course, progress takes place in all fields, but I defy you to identify
> another industry where we have seen so many dramatic improvements in such a
> short period of time.
It is indeed wonderful how much has grown from government (tax dollars)
seed money to develop computers, ICs, the Internet, Ada, biotech, ...
I'd also include Unix and C, since they were funded by AT&T, whose money
came from telephone users as mandated by government regulation.  A tax,
in effect.  The benefits of early research, like the benefits of having a
military, and the benefits of much software, are too vulernable to "free
riders" to be adequately funded except by forced taxation.