What Is a Public Good and What Are Some Examples

question 48

Essay

What is a public good and what are some examples? What are the two primary reasons that the free market cannot provide a public good? Do you believe the government is an effective provider of public goods?

---

Definitions:

Psychiatric Disorder

A mental illness diagnosed by a medical or mental health professional that significantly interferes with an individual's cognitive, emotional, or social abilities.

American Psychiatric Association

A professional organization of psychiatrists aimed at advancing the study, prevention, and treatment of mental illnesses.

Phrenologists

Pseudoscientific practitioners who believed that the shape and size of the cranium could predict personality traits, character, and mental abilities.

Medieval Doctors

Healthcare practitioners in the Middle Ages who often relied on a mixture of religious beliefs, superstition, and early medical practices to treat patients.