Why is the US alone in SETI?

[Beerina]

IIRC, Seti also piggybacks on the data readings taken by other projects, so it's not like they're "renting their own time to the exclusion of 'real' science..."

 

[AWPrime]

I don't know if that's a shakey assumption. The same claim was made about a civilization being expansionist. It was quickly pointed out that the one and only civilization we actually know of was, in fact, expansionist.

The same would apply to civilization and radio. While some might not, that we do surely indicates it's a definite non-trivial possibility, if not probability.

I will clarify.

Intelligent life will create civilizations -> Humanity has been on this planet for quite a while, but has only started building civilization when the climate stabilized and allowed agriculture. And that stability might be an exception.
Also one may question on how advanced our industrial civilization is.