Governments that tell society a ‘Public Good’ is a real thing are invoking a false premise, which is just a clever tool of manipulation. The definition has been so butchered that textbook hardly matters. Many people seem to think it is a good that is only provided by government. It was first defined in the economic sense as a good that is non-excludable and non-rivalrous, meaning that you can’t prevent others from using it, and use of it cannot impact another’s consumption of the same good. The classic example of this is the air you breathe.
So, how did we get from non-excludable and non-rivalrous to ‘public’? The use of the term ‘public’ has undoubtedly led to the common thought that these goods can only be administered by government because it presupposes that these goods are only enjoyed in a multiple and when protected from impairment by others, which requires authority. The use of ‘public’ further leads to an inference of entitlement and the equation of these goods to inalienable rights in the constitutional sense.
Even the classic example of a public good in economics is flawed. Fresh air, examined in the state of nature (where there is no ‘civilization’ and man lives in absolute freedom) is not non-excludable and non-rivalrous. Sure, the air one breathes could generally be free of contaminants and in abundance, such that it would be a mostly unlimited resource.
But what happens when the air becomes contaminated from a volcano eruption, and fresh air becomes a limited resource? Now, suppose Cave Man A found a cave that he retreats into and breathes fresh air. Cave Man B has not found such a cave. Cave Man A could grant Cave Man B access to his cave in exchange for food, or something else of value, the bartering being based on their unique skills, Cave Man A being a good scout and Cave Man B being a good hunter. This is a basic form of the social contract, both given up some freedoms to work together for their mutual survival. While the conceptual contract is between just two, it is very easy to administer (reneging = death).
But Mother Nature did not consult them before a volcano erupted. She is not a party to the contract. For that reason alone, there can be no such that as a public good in the sense that it has become to be understood and defined by our society. And as resources become more and more scarce, we contract with more and more people to pool and share our resources to ensure our survival. This is the creation of a society. As more parties joined, government was created to oversee and administer the social contract. But the government’s role was always intended to be fiduciary only. Yet, they have overstepped this original delegated authority, acting like a party to the contract rather than an administrator. And in doing so, it has reinforced these incorrect notions of entitlement that do not exist in the state of nature.
