free riders
Contributors without contributing
Free riders are people who benefit from something without contributing to its cost or effort.
The term comes from economics: someone who enjoys public goods—parks, national defense, clean air—without paying taxes.
More broadly, it describes anyone who lets others do the work while reaping the rewards: Half the group project was free riders who showed up for the grade.
The concept appears in discussions of unions, collective action, and shared resources.
- moochersThose who beg habitually
- freeloadersPeople exploiting others' generosity
- social loafingReduced exertion in groups
- leechesBlood-drinking segmented worms
- public goodsShared, non-excludable resources
parasitism · something for nothing · gaming the system · dependents · opportunism · externalities · sponges · cooperation · incentives · moral hazard · skin in the game · tragedy of the commons · recipient · reciprocity · fairness · market failure · penalties · group dynamics
free riderscontributors
Those who give help
stakeholders · cooperators · team players · supporters · funders
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