I can safely say that, of all living situations in Charlottesville, my roommates and I have one of the best. I often find myself wondering; how did I get so lucky? Everyday we continue to live amongst each other in perfect harmony, never squabbling over who has to do the dirty dishes like Nick so tragically complained to us about. The Brita is always full and Venmo requests are always completed. After some consideration on what makes our apartment living so cohesive, I came to a shocking conclusion.
I am a free-rider. Not in the sense that I don’t take out the trash, but in the provision of our apartment’s public goods. These goods include household staples, from dishwasher detergent, paper towels, pam cooking spray, and even baking supplies (vanilla is expensive, you know). Somehow, we have come to an unspoken agreement for a single person to bear the costs of these public goods, yet this person has never been me. The success of our private provision of public goods can be attributed to many factors. For one, my roommates have determined that the benefit of the public good (having clean dishes or a stocked pantry) is greater than I think it is, so they are willing to purchase these supplies. Or rather, they possess altruistic tendencies and are willing to contribute to our public goods even when the opportunity to free ride presents itself.
While these goods are rival in consumption, they are a form of impure public goods in that they are non-excludable. Yes, my roommates could physically take the pam cooking spray from me every time I intend to use it, or hide the dishwasher detergent, but that would decrease their own utility of the product, as my consumption of the public good lessens the chore load. My use of the dishwasher detergent helps keep our sink empty, which has positive externalities by saving them time. The exclusion of these goods is too costly to maintain, so our 'utopia' lives on.
No comments:
Post a Comment