free rider
Contributes nothing, gains
A free rider is someone who benefits from a collective resource or effort without contributing to it.
In economics and political theory, the free rider problem describes situations where individuals can enjoy public goods—clean air, national defense, union-negotiated wages—without paying their share: The project failed because too many free riders let others do the work.
The term extends to any context where someone takes advantage of others' efforts.
Absorbent cleaning material
- moocherOne who cadges habitually
- scroungerOne who begs opportunistically
- leechBlood-feeding aquatic worm
- parasiteOne exploiting a host
cadger · bludger · sponger · hanger-on · deadbeat · barnacle · user · taker
Shared resources ruined by self-interest
- public goodsShared, non-excludable resources
- collective actionOrganized group pursuit
- externalityUncompensated effect on others
- market failureInefficient resource distribution
moral hazard · social cost · incentive · prisoner's dilemma · game theory · cooperation · defection · equilibrium
Organized group pursuit
- teamworkJoint effort toward shared aim
- collaborationJoint intellectual work
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
- contributionSomething given to help
participation · shared resources · communal · interdependence · reciprocity · social contract · commons · coalition
Inert, unproductive mass
- drainChannel for wastewater
- liabilityLegal or financial obligation
- encumbranceHindrance or legal claim
- hindranceBarrier to progress
albatross · imposition · handicap · impediment · dead wood · millstone · anchor · baggage
sponge
Absorbent cleaning material
- moocherOne who cadges habitually
- scroungerOne who begs opportunistically
- leechBlood-feeding aquatic worm
parasite · cadger · bludger · sponger · hanger-on · deadbeat · barnacle · user · taker · noncontributor
tragedy of the commons
Shared resources ruined by self-interest
- public goodsShared, non-excludable resources
- collective actionOrganized group pursuit
- externalityUncompensated effect on others
market failure · moral hazard · social cost · incentive · prisoner's dilemma · game theory · cooperation · defection · equilibrium · optimization
collective action
Organized group pursuit
- teamworkJoint effort toward shared aim
- collaborationJoint intellectual work
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
contribution · participation · shared resources · communal · interdependence · reciprocity · social contract · commons · coalition · partnership
deadweight
Inert, unproductive mass
- drainChannel for wastewater
- liabilityLegal or financial obligation
- encumbranceHindrance or legal claim
hindrance · albatross · imposition · handicap · impediment · dead wood · millstone · anchor · baggage
opportunist
One exploiting circumstances
manipulator · swindler · exploiter · impostor · usurper · grifter · con artist · schemer · hustler · operator
- economic problemsmarket failure, recession, inflation, deflation, stagflation
- freeloadersmooch, moocher, sponge, sponger, scrounger
- hangers-onhanger-on, tagalong, leech, parasite, sponger
- game theoryzero-sum game, prisoners dilemma, minimax, payoff, equilibrium
- economicssupply and demand, inflation, GDP, GNP, gross domestic product
- microeconomicsdemand, supply, supply and demand, price, market
free ridercontributor
One who provides something
active participant · team player · cooperator · stakeholder · participator
free ridersubscriber
One who enrolls regularly
patron · premium member · taxpayer · purchaser · buyer
free ridergood citizen
Law-abiding community participant
altruist · do-gooder · pillar of the community · benefactor · giver