JD>I tell my students that national defense, a clean environment, and the
legal system are "public goods." Because they can't be divided up into
individual bundles, because you can't exclude someone from the consumption
of them, and because one person's consumption of the good does not detract
from others' consumption of them, they cannot be sold on the market, unlike
"private goods" (like food), which can be sold on the market.
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"The law" is the ultimate contested commodity [can you say campaign
contributions]. Spend a year in a law firm, or read Robert Hale or Duncan
Kennedy and you'll let go of the notion it's a public good.
Ian
