What is the driving force of science?

Why human beings take so much efforts in pursuing science? At first glance, the answer to this question is obvious. Science is fascinating. It can help people better understand the world. It can make a people live a better life. For example, when human beings began to have a primarily scientific mind, we began to have the ability to move out of the forests where we used to live in and started living in houses which is much more comfortable. With a scientific mind we began to know how to plant and we could get enough food. With science, right now, we can have so many advanced equipments, like cars, cellphones, computers. We can even explore the out space. The benefits science has brought to us are enormous. We are glad to have science with us.

However, to my opinion, this argument is just a post-hoc examination. The benefits science has brought us the just the result of implementing science, not the driving force of science. As far as I am concerned, science is only a means which is used by human beings to meet our needs. Because our antecedents wanted to live more comfortably, they wanted to eat full, and they wanted to survive, they began to think about ways that could help them build houses, that could make them full. Science is the tool that could help them make the needs. So human needs are the ultimate driving force of  science.

Today, in this much more civilized world, human needs are still the the ultimate driving force of  science. A slight difference right now is that human needs are on longer still focusing physical needs, for example food, shelter etc. Some more subtle needs become dominant, for example the desire for safety, the desire for respect, the desire for self-realization. Science here is still the best tool that human can use. Being a scientific man means that you have more chance of meeting your needs because the whole society respects science.

So far until now, we are still focusing on needs as the driving force of science. What will happen if in the future, when the society is highly civilized, highly affluent, every one being equal, all the needs of human being met, do human being still need science? As far as I am concerned, I think such an 'Utopian' is really likely to be realized with the science being extremely mature. In such a society, human needs are no longer driving force of science. Instead, the driving force would be human interest. I think interest is the ultimately driving force at that age. Although some people would say that right now interest has become the driving force. I would contest that right now the reason human being have interest in science is that being a scientist, they could live a better life. That is a very pragmatic view. But it is true.

Finally, I think although both human needs and interests are all sciecne driving forces, the effects of the two are different. I think that the driving power of interest may be higher than the driving power of human needs...Just maybe... I do not know....