Let the Wealthy Fund Innovation?
Nathan Myhrvold, former CTO of Microsoft, suggests that the wealthy should "think big" by funding large-scale and long-term innovation. Arguably, this would be a much preferred alternative to the wealthy using their millions to gain (more) political influence in much of the West, especially the United States. Myhrvold is now a backer of TerraPower, a nuclear energy startup. From Technology Review: For some technologists, it's enough to build something that makes them financially successful. They retire happily. Others stay with the company they founded for years and years, enthralled with the platform it gives them. Think how different the work Steve Jobs did at Apple in 2010 was from the innovative ride he took in the 1970s. A different kind of challenge is to start something new. Once you've made…