Martin Wolf on public goods

Public goods are the building blocks of civilisation. Economic stability is itself a public good. So are security, science, a clean environment, trust, honest administration and free speech. The list could be far longer. This matters, because it is hard to secure adequate supply. The more global the public goods the more difficult it is. Ironically, the better we have become at supplying private goods and so the richer we are, the more complex the public goods we need. Humanity’s efforts to meet that challenge could prove to be the defining story of the century.

Read it at The Financial Times
The world’s hunger for public goods
by Martin Wolf

Cuts to the core. Must-read for anyone who thinks public purpose is significant socially, politically, and economically.