In my humble opinion the free rider problem is not as great an issue as most people believe. It's just a leftover bit of Calvinist thinking that most people, myself included, haven't shaken completely. Everyone should have shelter and food whether they choose to work or not. You might be surprised by how few people would be willing to be a burden to everyone else. People will contribute if they don't feel alienated. John Thornton
----- Original Message ----- From: "Yoshie Furuhashi" <furuhashi.1 at osu.edu> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2002 7:18 PM Subject: Picket Duties & the Problem of Free Riding (was Re: Who Does No Work, Shall Not Eat...)
> >I have read 'Looking Forward', 'The Political Economy of Participatory
> >Economics' and I just finished 'Moving Forward'. Inspiring ,yes. I like
to
> >read fairly original ideas for egalitarian societies but this isn't
> >realistic. My biggest objection (and I have several) is simply that
> >participation is required. It is not a right but an obligation.
> >John Thornton
>
> Not just in production, but also in politics (capitalist, socialist,
> anarchist, or whatever) there exist obligations. For instance, we
> have not just the right to picket but picket duties that have to be
> enforced by workers themselves. When a large number of people shirk
> an obligation to participate in politics, we'll have a domination by
> a minority, such as what we have now.
>
> While how to manage absenteeism under socialism may be a problem that
> some of us may be fortunate enough to confront in the future (though
> most likely none of us will), the pressing question today is, rather,
> how to overcome the problem of free riding in politics (e.g.,
> enjoying benefits that unions bring without bothering to organize or
> take part in one, believing that one can enjoy civil rights and
> liberties without bothering to lift a finger to protect them, etc.).
> While (substantial, as opposed to superficial) political
> participation is an obligation, it's not an obligation that a state
> should or even could enforce. It's a problem without a surefire
> solution, one with which people must grapple on their own, often
> under circumstances not conducive to their doing so (e.g., overwork,
> ill health, fear of unemployment, reluctance to rock the boat, etc.).
> We are doomed to plutocracy forever without more folks standing up
> and getting politically involved, however.
> --
> Yoshie
>
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