>> Second, because government funded science is free from having to produce immediate results in order to satisfy the whims of a specific patron such that funding is continued.
> I agree with you but there's irony (and a possible lesson about motives) in the current situation.
Quite true, sadly.
I am reminded of an old adage[0]:
In theory there is no difference between theory and
practice, while in practice there is.
0 -
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/04/14/theory/