National defense is generally provided by the public sector for which reason?

National defense is generally provided by the public sector for which reason?

• A. The benefits are rival and excludable
• B. The benefits are mostly rival but excludable
• C. The benefits are excludable but nonrival
• D. The benefits are mostly nonrival and nonexcludable

Answer: (D)

National defense is a public good. Once it is provided, it protects everyone in the country, and you can’t realistically exclude anyone from that protection. Because people can’t be easily charged for defense and one person’s protection doesn’t reduce another’s, individuals have little incentive to pay on their own, leading to a free‑rider problem. Private markets would undersupply defense, so the government provides it and funds it through taxes to ensure universal protection. If defense benefits were excludable or rival, private provision could occur, but that’s not how national defense works.

National defense is a public good. Once it is provided, it protects everyone in the country, and you can’t realistically exclude anyone from that protection. Because people can’t be easily charged for defense and one person’s protection doesn’t reduce another’s, individuals have little incentive to pay on their own, leading to a free‑rider problem. Private markets would undersupply defense, so the government provides it and funds it through taxes to ensure universal protection. If defense benefits were excludable or rival, private provision could occur, but that’s not how national defense works.