Comment by pgbovine

you've inadvertently answered the question for me, to a first approximation :) i think that academia is a great launching point for a wide array of scholarly activities that the free market (i.e., industry) doesn't directly pay for: research, public policy, outreach, teaching, mentoring, industry collaborations, etc. i can work with whatever companies i want (even ones that are actively competing with each other at the moment!) and be seen as a "neutral" party; i can share knowledge via teaching and research again with a "neutral" voice without being seen as a spokesperson for a particular company or other special interest group. you're right, though -- there's a whole lot to the story. maybe someday i'll write something up!