You-know-who
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  • You-know-who
    University: Southwest University of Political Science and Law
    Nationality: China
    March 31, 2020 at 12:37 pm

    Scientific discoveries reflect a country’s inherent competitive advantages. Every superpower in this era is, without exception, a technology powerhouse. In order to limit other countries’ growth, some governments might monopolize their scientific discoveries. However, I suspect sharing yields more benefits than drawbacks.

    To begin with, sharing discoveries is a win-win situation. The government applies for a patent and then everyone gets benefits. For one thing, the government gets a right to exclusively use discoveries for a period of time. Although its discoveries are published , they are only used for research. For another thing, other countries can save a fortune. They avoid wasting time and effort researching something that someone has found before. Admittedly, the patent right can not protect some discoveries such as the law of nature. As for those discoveries, the government earns a reputation for its great academic achievements.

    Secondly, the government shall share some discoveries on the humanitarian grounds. If one discovery is able to reduce starvation, diseases and even poverty, the government should release it. There is no reason outweighs saving lives. The new hybrid rice is a classic example. It is able to grow on poor land and produce high yield. Sharing and expanding it can greatly decrease undernourished people around the world. If a government keeps such types of discoveries secretly, it has no sense of social responsibility.

    Lastly, sharing scientific discoveries promotes international cooperation. Simply put, sharing is a part of cooperation. In the common life, people prefer staying with friends who readily share their discoveries. That is the same between countries. A government that opposes sharing hardly get assistance from other countries, let alone cooperation. Over time, the government is isolated from the international community. Besides, some discoveries are not conclusions. As the research goes further, the government might lack resources, technologies, scientists or even cash. If it shares the discovery, the government can ask other countries for support and finally accelerate efficiency.