Economist Martin Wolf frames public goods historically:
“The history of civilization is a history of public goods… The more complex the civilization, the greater the number of public goods that need to be provided.”
Financial Times, January 24, 2012
PUBLIC GOODS IN ANCIENT TIMES
The drive to create and build things together– things that people need or want — is ancient. Around 2500 BCE, the people of Mohenjo-Daro constructed one of the ancient world’s most sophisticated urban water and sanitation systems — wells, sewer systems, and flush toilets serving an entire city. The Romans built 120,000 miles of roads — 50,000 of them stone-paved — knitting together a civilization and enabling trade and communication. The Inca engineered 25,000 miles of roads across some of the most rugged terrain on earth. The Aztecs brought fresh water to Tenochtitlan via aqueducts, beginning in 1418.
Ancient public goods
THE MODERN ERA
Closer to home, the 19th century saw transformative debates in the United States about things communities need and how to get them — what should be public and what should be private. Fire protection, which was once, in some communities, a subscription service purchased from private companies by those who could afford the cost, had become a publicly funded, municipally organized service across American cities by the 1860s. Universal public education — “free” to attend because it was collectively funded through taxes — took root in Massachusetts in the 1830s and spread nationwide. In California, the legislature created junior colleges up and down the state in 1907. MiraCosta College was established – voted into existence –in 1934, first in Oceanside and then opening a campus right here in Cardiff by the Sea in 1998.
EDUCATION
Universal public education in the U.S. took hold starting with Massachusetts in 1830’s – the “common schools’ movement”.
FIRE SERVICE
Individual homeowners subscribed to a private fire insurance company. A “fire mark” identified which homes had a private fire service subscription.
Private fire insurance 18th & 19th cent. U.S.
Now – a public good. Public, municipal, fire departments were common in the U.S. by 1860’s.
Encinitas fire station
Donations
The EHS relies on grants, bequests, and donations to fulfill its mission.
We have 501(c)3 status, so all donations are tax-deductible; receipts will be issued for all forms of payment.
Donate at your convenience:
a) Point your camera at the QR code to pay with credit card, Venmo, CashApp, Apple Pay, PayPal, etc.
b) Click this line to donate with credit card, Venmo, CashApp, Apple Pay, PayPal, etc.
c) Mail a check payable to the Encinitas Historical Society, and addressed – 1883 Schoolhouse, Re: Donation, 390 West F Street, Encinitas CA 92024. Please provide your email address and phone number.
d) Visit our Schoolhouse and be amazed by our racks of thematic gifts!
Encinitas Historical Society & 1883 Schoolhouse 