A public good means that consumption of the good by one party doesn't affect the possible consumption of the good by another party; thus, it can be argued that even roads aren't a public good (ie, traffic); healthcare isn't a public good because there are limited numbers of hospitals, hospital rooms, doctors, etc. The classic example of a public good is air - if i breathe more air, it doesn't decrease the amount of air everyone else can breathe. but even that can be argued otherwise - if a factory pollutes the air around a city, do you define that as the factory consuming the air, or just pissing in the pool, so to speak? That's when you get into exclusivity rights, which, in the case of air, or the environment in general, the government protects these public goods by claiming the right to exclude the factory from polluting, or by mandating limits. This is also where littering fines come from (or toll roads, if you'd like to argue that they are public goods), because the problem with public goods is that nobody takes the responsibility to maintain them, which is why every unit of civilization has a governing body take on such a responsibility. Roads are maintained by governments largely for reasons of economic benefit, as transportation is an economic lubricant. Thus, roads are good for the public, but I don't know if you could call them public goods; a big 18-wheeler stopped in the middle of the road affects others' ability to use the road, and each car entering a crowded freeway sets each car behind it back by 10 seconds, so on and so forth.

And to add, I think information might be considered more of a public good than education; education requires facilities and faculty, which have limits; information, on the other hand - well, when you read this, it doesn't affect anyone else's ability to read it.

In reply to this comment by jonny:
you mean, like roads? those things which create economic benefit for everyone?

In reply to this comment by J-Rova:
Since when is healthcare a public good? or education? granted, they are good for the public, but they are not, by any means, public goods.

...and now there's another one. I should really be more open-minded...

In reply to your comment:
“Hmm - I'm seeing a theme with your (first 3) posts.. hehe”