Essay On Public Good

There can exist no Public Good, by definition, if there is no Public informing it. The Public is comprised of stakeholders who have a share in whatever outcomes are being determined. Benefits afforded to members of the Public delineate the Public Good. Then, Progress, in turn, arises from the continuous contributions made to the Public Good.
While most people would agree that contributions made toward the Public Good constitute as Progress, very few people could agree on what the Public Good actually is. That is because everyone has a vested self-interest as well as a different view of who makes up their version of the Public.
Progress requires constant reevaluation of what qualifies as the Public Good. Since whoever qualifies as part of the Public is ever-changing, along with our perception of what is Good, so does the societal interpretation of Progress. The Public determines what is Good when deciding Progress, and in turn, Progress then advises us, …show more content…
Therefore, we also fail to drive Progress, which then, in turn, fails the Public. Without acknowledging the barrier of self-interest in determining the Public Good, individuals cannot unite to create Progress. As in the case of risk management and disaster intervention, “for now, the tasks of preparation, response, and recovery rest with myriad organizations that are only loosely coordinated. As a result, long-term efforts to reduce disaster risk are haphazard, and the effectiveness of government response and recovery efforts is unpredictable and varies by region” (Lakoff, 2010). When individuals fail to take collective responsibility, “agencies are designed to fail by narrow-minded politicians and bureaucrats who fail to consider broad national concerns” (Lakoff, 2010). And thus, we fail as a Public to agree on the Public Good, impeding any Good that may come about from a collective effort to avert public