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In economics, something is considered rivalrous if its consumption by one person prevents it from being available to someone else. For example, an apple eaten by one person is no longer able to be eaten by others. Similarly taking a seat on an airplane reduces the number of seats left for sale. Such goods suffer from scarcity.
In contrast, non-rivalrous goods may be consumed by multiple people without diminishing their utility to each user. Examples include many intangible objects such as ideas and digital computer files, though certain intangible goods such as fame are rivalrous. Non-rivalrous objects can exist in the physical world as well, such as a beautiful scenic view or the common cold. Non-rivalrous goods are not scarce from the point of view of the individual, but are usually scarce from a social perspective because of the scarcity of the resources needed to produce them.
A public good, like law enforcement, is one that is to some degree both "non-rivalrous" and "non-excludable", meaning it is difficult to exclude someone from its benefits. Goods holding both these properties to an extreme are described as 'pure' public goods, though most public goods are impure in practice.Template:Econ-stub