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Economics
Public Good
A good that is non-excludable and non-rivalrous — one person's use doesn't reduce availability to others.
Public goods suffer from the free-rider problem — people benefit without paying. This is why they are usually funded by taxes. Some goods are close to public goods (education, basic research) but not perfectly so.
It's like a lighthouse — once built, everyone can use it and it doesn't get used up.
Real world: National defence, street lighting, and clean air are classic public goods. Private companies usually won't provide them because they can't easily charge users, so governments step in.
💡 Public goods are things society needs but the free market usually won't provide on its own.