Maybe that's a good thing that it's self-governing and less regulated then. Research universities contribute a ton of research and teaching to society. Can't say the same about other industries.
You're kidding right? "Other industries" have literally built pretty much everything you see around you, generated the knowledge to do it, and train millions of workers in it.
You mean after being educated at research universities for years, learning from the academic literature and textbooks, and meeting collaborators in classes? Like Google, right? Or Facebook? Or do you mean Wall Street? Or Boeing?
Or did some self-taught teenager "generate knowledge" in his spare time from scratch?
In the tech industry alone, Google and Microsoft run top-tier research arms. And before them, Bell Labs and others did at least as much as universities to advance the field.
