Free Rider Problem Essay

            Usually, the first disadvantage that people who oppose free enterprise bring up is the significant social division, or gap between the rich and poor. Although this may be true, it is an inevitable misfortune that will be found in all forms of markets - unless, of course, you live in a utopia. The sad truth is, there will always be a gap between the wealthy and less fortunate, even in

Situations where self interest and public interest work against each other are known as “commons problems.” In the market model the chief source of conflict is individual’s perceived welfare vs. another’s perceived welfare. In the polis model the chief source of conflict is self interest vs. public interest, or “how to have both private benefits and collective benefits.” Stone notes “most actions in the market model do not have social consequences” but in the polis, commons problems “are everything.” It is rare in the polis that the costs and benefits of an action are entirely self-contained, affect only one or two individuals, or are limited to direct and immediate effects. Actions in the polis have unanticipated consequences, side effects, long-term effects, and effect many people. Stone states, “one major dilemma in the polis is how to get people to give weight to these broader consequences in their private calculus of choices, especially in an era when the dominant culture celebrates private consumption and personal gain.” That is a

“The path to economic growth is not engineered by the government; rather, the path to economic prosperity is built by the people.” This quote relates to classical liberalism because it displays a ring wing perspective, which indicates devalued government authority in relation to aspects of individualism. Overall demonstrating the economic perspective that favours the absence of government involvement. It brings into question what the most efficient way to run an economy is, and what is the best way to manage an economy to maintain stability. Some believe that government intervention in an economy is dangerous because it adds to the nation’s overall inflation rate and national debt. Friedrich Hayek is an economic theorist supporting little

Adam Smith, an Enlightenment economist, advocated for a laissez-faire approach to the economy, leaving the citizens the right to control their economic system. He recommended that the government deregulate trade and allow people to be “perfectly free to pursue his own interest in his own way.” (Doc C) Since people work for their own benefit, Smith argued that the workers, while striving for their own economic gain, would ultimately benefit the entire society, “led by an invisible hand,” (Doc C) which would equate the supply and demand of the free market. By giving people the right to decide how the

They will not complete a task unless they see something in it for them. Even when engaging in charity or volunteering activities, people are ultimately doing so in order to gain the feeling of satisfaction that they experience for having helped others. I can use this knowledge in more effectively persuading people to be conservative in their use of the resources available within the commons by explaining the benefits of doing so in terms of their own gains. For example, if the company of a theatrical production is striking a set, rather than trying to convince the director to recycle the materials from the set by saying something along the lines of “it would be unethical for you to do otherwise,” I can say “if you reuse the materials, you can cut nearly 25% off your set construction budget for future shows, and help the

Nearly 200 years ago, after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, slavery was no longer allowed; but America was still segregated. Segregation in many public places continued especially in the South. At this time, segregation was legal. In 1892, the Supreme Court had ruled that a state could separate whites and blacks as long as the services were equal. On May 4, 1961, a diverse group of thirteen courageous individuals known as the Freedom Riders embarked on a bus journey into the South in order to challenge segregation in bus terminals.

The Freedom Riders were a group of civil rights activists who wanted to test the law of segregation for public transportation. The group of riders were interracial, male and female, and consisted of students, leaders, and organizations who wanted to fight for civil rights. In 1960, the Supreme Court ruled segregation in interstate travel as unconstitutional, therefore these activists set out to test this law. Throughout 1961, the Freedom Riders rode buses into the deep southern states, which happened to be the most segregated. They wanted to see how the townspeople would react, by accepted or declining the new law. The results were terrifying and brutal, white mobs would chase the riders out, beating them, and forcing them to fear for their lives. The riders were ignored, after all the beatings, threats, and arrests, they still never backed down. They stood up for each other and their rights, which lead to their victory of desegregating transportation along with other public facilities, schools, and restaurants. These strong men and women define bravery, they have made a glorifying impact on society and have allowed equal rights to expand beyond belief, although nothing will ever change the struggles these riders went through.

To begin with, people who refuse to contribute to the free market society will become dislocated from the society and

In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith argues that people only agree to exchanges that are mutually beneficial. Free exchanges are necessary for a society to promote liberty. However, many industries force exchanges upon consumers. Forced exchanges will remain to be a problem in our ever-growing society as personal greed continues to grow. At what point, does one feel guilty for there ever lasting harm on our planet. There are multiple ways to make a living without having to harm the environment and force exchanges. More specifically I will discuss slaughterhouse workers, restaurant workers and the beef industry. The food industry exploits workers and continues to get away with it. The agriculture industry is the biggest single polluter in the world and people have no idea. It is safe to say, one of the worst culprit of forced exchanges is the American food industry.

In theory a free market would work. It would cause prosperity, if we lived in an idealistic utopia, but blind treatises such as this tend to ignore the facts of life and the core being of human nature. This is the first fallacy of the theory. The fact that there is an essential responsibility being placed on a few people's shoulders without some sort of check and balances system. This takes idealism to a dangerous level, by neglecting objective facts about the likelihood of something to go wrong and dispelling the possibility that the plan might not work and setting up precautions. Close mindedness is the enemy of all plans. Selfishness is the driving force of not only our daily lives but of evolution as whole. Mankind will always seek

A free market is a type of market that the government is not involved in. Since the government does not care about what happens, the free market is also called “hands-off” or “let it be economics”. The government is limited to protect the citizens from the danger and that is the major goal for the government. In the free market economy, there are three components of the free market economy: competition, active but limited government, and the self-interest. Competition is one of the main components of the free market economy. Competition means that the companies compete with one another to make more benefits to themselves. According to the concept of the free market economy, the competition means a good thing because it is a basic

Billy has some free-riders as co-workers. The scenario suggests that Billy is putting forth the effort in making decisions regarding the innovations in the company and putting in extra time while his colleagues are playing tennis. Billy, being in charge of technical development, feels as though his colleague’s lack of effort will delay any projects being worked on. A free-rider enjoys the benefits and efforts of others while not sharing in the costs of the effort. In Billy’s case, his fellow scientists will enjoy any credit or compensation received, from projects that come as a result of Billy’ hard work and long hours. From this example, it can be determined how damaging free-riding can be if not addressed or without having a good organization architecture and culture in place.

The Freedom Riders were a racially mixed group, organized by the Congress of Racial Equality, who challenged the south’s segregation laws in 1961. Thirteen riders left Washington DC, hoping to bring attention to the segregation laws in the south, and force federal action. The plan was to spend two weeks riding the public bus system from Washington, DC to New Orleans, Louisiana. At each stop, the riders would purposefully violate the segregation laws of the deep south by entering the “all white” facilities, to see if the African-American riders would be served. The group was committed to a completely non-violent stand, being trained in various responses, such as not making eye-contact with antagonizers.

In the 1960’s Milton Friedman was known to say “there’s no such thing as a free lunch. “If the government spends a dollar, that dollar has to come from producers and workers in the

The fact that free markets are based on a contractual agreement between the buyer and seller with very little government control makes it feasible to consider it to be compatible with individual freedom. (Free Market: 2014) Classical liberals may agree with the objectives of free markets, as they emphasise the importance of individual freedom with limited control of the state. (Hagopian)The counter argument is that when the free market economy is fuelled by profit motives, it sacrifices some ethical and economic issues which can cause severe consequences. (Gerald Hanks: 2014) Modern Liberals argue that although individual freedom is important, coercion can be used as a positive outlook of bettering individuals to the best of their ability.