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

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the
recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing
and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the
recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples
shape your position.

My essay:

The issue of whether or not governments should place any restrictions on scientific research and development is a contentious one. While each side has its strengths and weaknesses, I believe that government should place restrictions on scientific research and development primarily because it can keep an eye on the developments to curtail any dangerous inventions. Furthermore, the involvement of the government develops credibility over the new inventions on the consumer end.
First, the inventions such as nuclear weapons, cloning living things, etc. might lead to disturbances in society. To abstain such things from coming into existence the government should levy restrictions. The movie The Amazing Spiderman, though a fictional one, provides the best example of why should governments should control scientific research and development. In this movie, the character Dr. Curtis Connors tries to revive his amputated hand using the regeneration ability of a lizard through unrestricted research which led to chaos in the city. It took another unrestricted invention, Spiderman, to control the situation. If the government had regulated that invention and taken complete control of the invention the chaotic situation wouldn’t have taken place in the first place.
Some may argue citing the maxim “Too many cooks spoil the broth” in the same way restrictions from the intervention of the government might elicit more inconsistencies in the invention than the original one. This argument might be persuasive, but many hands make the work light and help to solve a problem in a better way. For example, if a person tries to design technical aspects of a nuclear power plant he might skip a few key elements which might lead to a nuclear catastrophe. If that had a team of people overlooking the design even minute mistakes could be eliminated. Similarly, the government’s restrictions tend to check every possibility of abuse of the research and hold them from proceeding to development.
To sum up, it would be wise to put stringent regulations on scientific research and development. Furthermore, the government should set a few restrictions that will be applied to all forms of research to ensure that it is not abused and that it is used for the improvement of mankind.