Not all engineering is about developing products to sell to consumers. Engineers also design bridges and rockets. I don't think these are subject to the open marker in any meaningful sense.
Engineers also design bridges and rockets. I don't think these are subject to the open marker in any meaningful sense.
Rockets (until recently) had only one buyer, true, but bridges are certainly subject to the open market. When, say, a government entity wants to build a bridge it writes down the specs and invites people to submit designs and expected costs -- there's your open market.
Science is not particularly reliable.
And yet, we have remarkable technology, and can do medical marvels.
My tentative theory is that there's a lot of knowledge that's less formal than science in engineering, manufacturing, and the practice of medicine which makes it possible to get work done, and some fairly effective methods of filtering information that comes from science.