> This is one of the saddest aspects: so much high-value effort and skill towards an end that, in the whole, I view as a massive drain and retardant on human development.
I think this speaks to the scale of the economy. There is all this waste. Soooo much waste. And patents are just one small aspect of the constant waste. And yet all these businesses and people, in aggregate "the economy", consistantly make money and progress and invent more. It's impressive.
The world does this despite the patent system. Not because of it. If the patent system were to disappear today all that invention would still go on. It would just put a lot of lawyers out of work and make a bunch of rich companies CEOs nervous.
Look at software: It existed for decades and decades without patents and the technological progress in that field vastly surpasses that of any other contemporary science/technology. Then we tried applying patents to software and it did nothing but create a giant mess, destroy small businesses, and make a bunch of patent attorneys (and their friends) rich. There is literally no benefit to society from software patents. It is 100% negative.
I think this speaks to the scale of the economy. There is all this waste. Soooo much waste. And patents are just one small aspect of the constant waste. And yet all these businesses and people, in aggregate "the economy", consistantly make money and progress and invent more. It's impressive.
And still, yes, so much more could be possible.