Scientific Progress Needs Entrepreneurial Progress

In our age of technological marvels, it’s easy to be in awe of science, and even to believe that science in and of itself is responsible for the high living standards enjoyed in some nations. Likewise, it’s all too easy to see poverty and economic stagnation as stemming from a lack of scientific progress, and conclude that to make the world a better place, all we need are more breakthroughs and inventions. However, the recent explosion of interest in “science” tends to overlook what is maybe the most important fact about human progress: it doesn’t happen without entrepreneurial progress. In other words, scientific breakthroughs don’t actually increase most people’s welfare until entrepreneurs figure out how to make them do something practical, at prices consumers find reasonable. As Peter Klein points out, such was the case of the internet, which had little value until it was integrated into the market economy. Given the popularity of celebrity scientists like Neil deGrasse Tyson, or of pages like “I f@&%ing love science,” it’s vital to stress the common-sense economics of scientific research. It’s when science enters our lives through the market that it bestows the greatest benefits on humanity. Whether it’s a basic invention or the most advanced physical science, entrepreneurs make the wonders of the scientific world into commonplace conditions of everyday life. What science needs then is a guiding hand (hint: an invisible one), a means to assess the social worth of new knowledge and inventions. And that’s exactly what the market provides through the indispensable tool of economic calculation. Because their mission is to improve the lives of consumers, entrepreneurs are the standard-bearers of scientific progress, looking constantly to the frontiers of knowledge for new ways to increase human well-being.