23. Governments should place few, if any, restrictions on scientific research and development.

The restrictions government place are often to regulate the type of research scientists can deal with as well as the the goals researchers should achieve in a period of time. The restrictions on scientific research should be determined by whether scientific research made the contribution to the country and society. Hence, some people believe any restriction shackles the development of science. However, others think some restrictions are necessary to accelerates the speed of development and prevent science from damaging the nature and society.

There is no doubt that a free environment is beneficial for the development of scientific research. Creation and innovation are most valuable characteristics for scientific research and these features can be motivated thoroughly under a unrestricted circumstance. Once any restriction are put on research, those features are undoubtedly weakened by the those government-made regulations. The purpose of those regulations for governments is often to maintain the safety of the country as well as to precipitate quantified outcomes. For example, governments of most countries forbid cloning human beings, which challenges morality. However, these restrictions prevent scientists from researching clone technology and alternative organ technology. Furthermore, some governments regulates the minimal number of published papers, minimal number of patents and other outcomes have to achieve for many scientist. Although these kind of restriction can accelerate the quantity of scientific research, they also greatly weaken the quality of research and lower the interests and passion of scientists.

However, some restrictions on scientific research are necessary. The final purposes of scientific researchers are not only finding some universal principles, but also providing more convenience and contributions to the society. Science is a double edged sword so that only restrictions and regulations can prevent it from hurting and damaging the society. For example, the research about biochemistry weapons and nuclear weapons are forbidden by many countries, for the reason that this kind of research would cause the extinction of human beings. Also, the outcomes of some researches about cloning humans are so unpredictable that governments have to forbid them currently. Moreover, some regulations, which quantify the research outcomes, motivate scientists to work more laborious and make contributions to the country.

The most significant issue we should consider is which kind of regulations should be placed and which are not. The research relates morality and the war should be regulated by governments with certain regulations until we have a better understand about it. And for the restrictions to regulate quantified outcomes of research, different government can implement different policy according to the specific conditions about the researchers. The balanced point is necessary and should be accurate to maximize the contribution researchers can make and the advantage governments can take.

In conclusion, although restrictions governments put prevent the development of some research fields, they are unavoidable to shackle some dangerous research and guarantee the diligence of researchers.