[tim58]

> Is this meme the single greatest reason why the developed world has so few successful moonshots?

I think you are experiencing a bias. The developed world takes a lot of moonshots. Very few succeed. Many last decades. Here are some currently active moonshots.

* Novel Coronavirus vaccine

* Self driving cars

* Delivery drones

* SETI

* Commercial fusion

* General Purpose AI

* Quantum Computers

* "Quiet" supersonic airplanes.

* The search for a Theory of Everything