You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Scientific research should be carried out and controlled by the governments rather than private companies. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

It is generally believed that scientific research should be carried out and controlled by the state rather than private firms. I cannot completely agree to the statement owing to the following reasons.

The first reason why I think that there should be enough freedom to carryout research is because of the fact that inventions can occur at anytime, anywhere and by anyone. To make it clearer, many landmark inventions like plastic were accidental, and had not happened in state-run laboratories. If stringent state restrictions are in place, many potential scientific personalities have to stop their researches and Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison will remain the greatest scientists ever .

Secondly, research, in any form, whether it is technical or scientific, is mostly aimed at the needs and comforts of the human beings, and therefore, should be encouraged irrespective of its ownership. For example, Covid-19 had made many governments understand the significance of private pharmaceutical companies in the field of research on the effective vaccines. Similarly, most genetically modified foods (GM foods) and most of its ongoing researches are carried out by private companies, even though its research was a governmental initiative.

However, it is unwise to let these researches to be carried out without any supervision. This is because inventions can be hijacked for money, and can be used against any society or state. Another reason why I think a regulation is necessary is to prohibit researches which attempt destructive results.

To conclude, it is clear that any effort to scientific research should not be hindered as it is beneficial to the human race. However, state vigilence should be there without interfering the objectives of research, unless contra-indicated.