PHL100Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Free Rider Problem, Turnitin
Document Summary
The social contact (an agreement of rules that help improve the quality of life) So we agree to do individual jobs: division of labour (people do what they"re good at, it"s more efficient) That implies trade (some things are better in other countries) What does this presuppose: that distribution of labour will work out. Which is why education is necessary, so that people can learn new skills that are in demand: prior agreement to keep agreements (keeping a contract) This doesn"t take care of the free rider problem (just because you say you"d obey those rules doesn"t mean you actually will or will want to) Collaboration is easy when everyone benefits in proportion to their efforts. Morality (or justice) means cooperating even when i lose. The free rider problem arises when my contribution doesn"t make much difference (if everyone else cleans up, i don"t have to. If no one else cleans up, what i do won"t matter anyway)
