the public good

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a contested but essential concept in political theory and economics with two related but distinct meanings: first, the general welfare or common interest of all members of a community or society, invoked as the proper aim of government policy and public institutions; and second, a technical economic category denoting goods that are non-excludable — no one can be prevented from benefiting from them — and non-rivalrous — one person's consumption does not diminish the amount available to others — such as national defence, clean air, and public knowledge; in the technical economic sense, public goods tend to be undersupplied by markets because their non-excludability prevents providers from charging users, creating a free-rider problem that requires public provision or subsidy; in political discourse the public good is constantly contested, with different actors claiming their preferred policies serve it while their opponents' serve only private or sectional interests