Hacker News Reader

There is no free market in the fab business. Every single player had some level of government support and direct subsidies for decades.

Exactly. ICs and Silicon Valley as we know it wouldn’t exist without the space program.

America never claimed to have a completely free market: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/031815/united-state...

Some things are more important than free market capitalism, and making sure you’re not dependent on hostile countries for key technology is one of them.