>>1609656> All either developed directly by the public sector or subsidized with taxpayer dollarsWhen the government subsidizes 99% of everything, it's literally impossible for this statement not to be true. Doesn't mean that the government was necessary or even helpful for the development of these technologies.
> InternetBell labs, 3Com, etc. etc. were all private and did most of the work. Sure a few prototype technologies were developed by DARPA, but it was all super basic shit like packet framing protocols that got reinvented anyway.
> secure communicationsThis was mostly invented by people working at MIT. Yes, MIT gets government funding, but most of its funding is from private endowments. Again, 99% of everything gets some level of government funding. Doesn't mean it's required. Literally impossible to avoid.
> GPSUp until 2001 (at which point private alternatives were viable), the government intentionally degraded the quality of civilian GPS so it wasn't generally usable for navigation. If anything, the government delayed civilian-accessible accurate GPS.
> touch screensThis is the only one where you're basically right. Capacitive touchscreens were invented by a guy working at the British RRA. Not coincidentally, even though capacitive screens were invented first, the privately invented resistive touchscreens were the only things used by civilians for a long time, even though they were worse.
> The Wealth of NationsIf you're getting your ideas about capitalism from a book that's almost 250 years out of date, it's no wonder you underestimate its flexibility.
