  The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the particle accelerator operating at CERN,
is probably the most complex and ambitious scientific project ever accomplished
by humanity. The sheer size of the enterprise, in terms of financial and human
resources, naturally raises the question whether society should support such
costly basic-research programs. I address this question here by first reviewing
the process that led to the emergence of Big Science and the role of large
projects in the development of science and technology. I then compare the
methodologies of Small and Big Science, emphasizing their mutual linkage.
Finally, after examining the cost of Big Science projects, I highlight several
general aspects of their beneficial implications for society.
