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0 pointsclan5mo ago0 comments

That was a very narrow definition of a public good.

Not preventable? (Excludable)

Not limited in supply? (Rivalous)

What can even be defined as a public good. Can air even be a public good by this definition? Even arguing in good faith I cannot wrap my head around this.

A hospital? Limited capacity even with socialized medicine. Not a public good?

Is this just an (to me) alien and extreme libertarian viewpoint I cannot fathom or am I missing something deeper?

The concrete example stands. But a world in which we do not consider bridges a public good seems rather dystopian to me. I grant you that some of those might be private. But considering all to be private and just with a handwave acknowledge that most are publicly funded seems... Odd...

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ggreer5mo ago

I am using the Econ 101 definition.[1] Examples of public goods include lighthouses, knowledge, a common language, and national defense.

The reason for the different classification is because public goods obey different economic laws. For example: because public goods are non-excludable, they have the free rider problem.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_good

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