Justin Schwartz:
> "Public good" is a technical term of art in decision theory, welfare
> economics, and social choice theory. It means something the market won't
> provide by itself because there are too many free riders. A "public good"
> doesn't have to be a public _benefit_. National "defense" is a classical
> example of a public good. So too is police protection, which, you, as an
> anarchist, disapprove of.
Was that the way Yoshie was using the term? My impression was that some notion of general benefit yet remained in her usage, term of art or not.
As the academic system continues to squeeze the citizenry, the notion of the benefit derived for the prices paid seems important to review, especially for those most deeply involved in paying those prices, to wit, the students. This was what I thought we were talking about, since demonstrations (a form of public review) were mentioned.