# What are Public Goods? > **“In economics, a "public good" refers to anything that is both *****non-excludable***** and *****non-rivalrous,***** that is, people can't be barred access, and one person's use doesn't degrade another's.** Clean air is an example of a naturally occurring public good, while the electric grid is a public good created by people. #### What are the public goods of today's industrial-knowledge society? Open source code, which supports millions of companies and independent developers, is often thought of this way. The cypherpunks considered privacy itself as a kind of public good. A **great public good** should: **• Be values-based** — in service of a set of values your community cares about. **• Have longevity** — be achievable and maintainable. **• Create positive externalities** — benefits a public beyond an immediate set of users. Gitcoin started off focusing on Digital Public Goods (like Open Source software) but we have now expanded into real-life Public Goods. To learn more about public goods checkout: {% embed url="" %} --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://support.gitcoin.co/gitcoin-knowledge-base/gitcoin-grants/general-questions/what-are-public-goods.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.