While Reading “Is the Government More Entrepreneurial Than You Think?”, this article initially reminded me of how my parents would likely think about the government and business. My parents are both conservatives from the South and they would likely argue that the government needs to get out of business and leave the free market alone. I began reading this article with skepticism, considering the rhetoric I had raised hearing and possibility that it was not true. I was very intrigued about the idea that the government could have a positive role in business and that capitalism feeds off of the government’s initial investments. The logic behind this makes total sense and knowing the reality of the government’s involvement is enlightening.

My critique of the government in this role, however, is that they do not say anything about their contributions, much less the size and extent of those contributions. Like Mariana Mazzucato likes to remind people, “Plato said that storytellers rule the world.” My frustration comes out of the lack of storytelling about this coming from the government. She was right to criticize the companies on the receiving end of the investments, benefitting from the technology and research, for not giving credit where credit is due (literally). She raises many interesting points and ideas about how to change the rhetoric and the policies that are becoming problematic and putting the government at a disadvantage. She also, towards the end, mentions that she is a thorn in both the government and the capitalists’ sides which makes me think of her work more seriously. To be disliked by both sides gives her some legitimacy that I did not previously see in her work.

I especially appreciated her inclusion of the problem with pharmaceutical companies as someone who deals with medications frequently. She is very right about the idea that someone would do anything to get their medications and that the companies are basically playing a game with patients. Large companies raise prices for seemingly no reason, formerly justifying it by saying it was to cover their own expenses, but this is not the case. I’ve noticed in my own experience when a medication will become more or less expensive, seemingly randomly. I am grateful to have insurance, because some medications can cost hundreds of dollars even when a similar medication may cost much less. I have a few medications that I’ve been on for a while and pay for them with insurance assistance. One has a much higher price that sometimes increases, while one medication has stayed the same price regardless of how much I’m taking, and another medication is very inexpensive and has fluctuated in price slightly but occasionally decreases. The idea that these medications actually cost hundreds of dollars to produce and that I would then need to pay for this every month is ridiculous considering that most medications are generic and therefore not under a patent. If anyone could make something, it seems a little suspicious that several companies are all charging a lot of money for the same thing. Mazzucato has a lot of very interesting thoughts and ideas about this industry and I sincerely hope that at least some of them will be implemented.

This article was fascinating because it presented a different side of the business-government relationship that I had not previously known about. I am not business-minded so some of the terms and concepts went over my head, but I really want to do more research into some of these ideas because they fascinate me and have piqued my interest in the government-business relationship. Personally, I think the government should be more entrepreneurial.