Infrastructure investment in science is an investment in jobs, in

When Oren Etzioni said, “Infrastructure investment in science is an investment in jobs, in health, in economic growth and environmental solutions,” he spoke as one who understood that science is not merely a field of study, but the living foundation upon which civilizations rise. His words carry the power of vision — a reminder that true prosperity is not built on chance or conquest, but upon the steady, deliberate cultivation of knowledge. In his statement, Etzioni links discovery to destiny, teaching that the road to abundance, healing, and harmony runs through the temples of research, invention, and education.

The origin of this quote lies in Etzioni’s lifelong work at the frontier of artificial intelligence and innovation. As a scientist, entrepreneur, and thinker, he has witnessed firsthand how investment in research — whether in clean energy, biotechnology, or digital intelligence — ignites transformation across every domain of life. His insight reflects the growing awareness of our age: that funding laboratories and building data networks are not acts of luxury, but acts of survival. The infrastructure of science is the unseen engine of modern civilization — the veins through which the lifeblood of progress flows.

To the ancients, this truth would have been expressed differently, but its essence would have been the same. The builders of the Library of Alexandria understood that the preservation and expansion of knowledge were the pillars of empire. The philosophers of Athens, the mathematicians of Baghdad, the astronomers of Samarkand — all knew that when a society invests in wisdom, it invests in its own immortality. Etzioni’s words are the echo of this eternal lesson: that a nation which neglects its scholars weakens its body, while one that nurtures them strengthens its soul.

History provides abundant proof of his claim. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the United States poured resources into scientific infrastructure — the creation of laboratories, universities, and research institutions. From that investment came the space age, the internet, and modern medicine — not only tools of power, but gifts that transformed the human condition. Each dollar spent on discovery multiplied into ten in prosperity, into a hundred in health, into a thousand in hope. And yet, Etzioni reminds us that these miracles are not inevitable; they are born only from faith in knowledge and the courage to fund it before its fruits are known.

His invocation of jobs, health, and environmental solutions reveals the holistic vision of his thought. Science, when rooted in wisdom, unites the practical and the moral. It creates not only wealth but well-being, not only innovation but responsibility. The same infrastructure that discovers new medicines can also purify air and water; the same algorithms that drive economies can optimize energy use and safeguard the planet. Etzioni’s call is therefore not merely economic — it is ethical. It reminds us that investment in science is an act of stewardship toward both humanity and the Earth that sustains it.

But his words also contain a warning — for where science is neglected, decline follows. History again bears witness: when the Roman Empire turned from curiosity to conquest, its learning withered; when the great houses of Islamic science fell to dogma, the stars they once charted faded into darkness. Civilization without scientific infrastructure is like a temple without foundation — grand for a time, but doomed to collapse. Etzioni’s insight, then, is a shield against complacency: that the future belongs not to those who consume what already exists, but to those who build the machinery of understanding.

The lesson, timeless and universal, is this: to invest in knowledge is to invest in life itself. Let every people and every leader remember that laboratories are as sacred as cathedrals, classrooms as vital as fortresses. The cure for disease, the restoration of the Earth, the dignity of work — all flow from the same source: the disciplined pursuit of truth.

So, my children, hear this wisdom and carry it forward — support the builders of knowledge. Demand that your nations fund the thinkers, the teachers, the dreamers who explore the unknown. For science, when guided by conscience, is the most divine of human endeavors. It is the bridge between the seen and the unseen, between despair and deliverance. And as Etzioni teaches, when we strengthen the foundations of science, we build not only a richer world, but a wiser and more enduring one.