Please look up the distinction: public goods are characterized by indivisible consumption; that is, once produced, no one can be excluded from consuming them. Police protection, defense, street lighting, and clean air are usually offered as examples.
With private goods, such as an apple, you can exclude others --- those who do not own the good -- from consumption.
There is an intermediate, less researched category --- that of club goods.
Again, I made a statement with regard to public goods; your reply centered on private one. I do not disagree with your remarks, but they speak on a different topic than my post.
By this definition, then "public goods" might be mythical constructs. For example, the police don't necessarily protect citizens (as explained in Dial 911 And Die) let alone protecting certain classes of citizens, such as blacks in the South in the 50s, or Jews in Nazi Germany. Hence, what exactly is "police protection" anyway? Near as I can tell, the police have the job of protecting the government and the elite from the unwashed masses; they certainly treat some places as would an enemy occupation, sent in to oppress keep the peace.
Futhermore, consider public bads, like taxes that impoverish everybody, the poor especially so, or victim disarmament laws that seek to render everyone defenseless, questions of rights aside. These things are produced in great numbers by governments, and they often lead to problems that are then proposed to be solved by even more public bads.
The author if this article stated that Libertarianism has been dealt a death blow on 9-11, and that the only viable road to the future is with a strong government and continued restrictions on liberties and the free market.
One of the most inane things about this argument is that much of the anger the Muslims have with the US is the interventionist policies in the first place. Had we been a bit more Libertarian before, we might not have suffered the attacks in the first place. But now that we have, the author is trying to say that Libertarianism is dead.
I do not disagree with your remarks, but they speak on a different topic than my post.
Sorry, but comments like "try to educate yourself before shooting from the hip" indicates to me some disagreement.