Sure, individual and company property rights are easy to understand, even if we are doing a piss poor job at supporting them with our financial system.
Much more difficult are public tools - ones that belong to all of us, over whatever span they may reach.
I'd argue the public system is as broken as the private one - in fact I think we've foisted the weaknesses of both systems upon each, rather that reaching for the best of the two worlds.
I won't claim to have the final word on this subject, but, one measure that is very important is what people are willing to do for free. If someone finds something worth working for without compensation, it is likely a good endeavor.
This brings up the concept of matching private donations with public, and, this, too, is part of the solution.
