Free-riding means people can benefit from a service without paying anything. It also arises if people can get benefit without making equal contributions. So a free rider always enjoys the benefits of a resource or service while letting someone else do the work or do more work.
There are several effects of the free rider problem. The first is the Tragedy (悲剧) of the Commons, a situation in which individuals with access to a public resource act in their own interest and, in doing so, finally use up the resource. For example, imagine that a group of people share a piece of land where they all graze (让……吃草) their cattle. If each person just tries to maximize their own short-term gain, they will let their cattle graze as much as possible. However, if everyone does this, the land will quickly become overgrazed and will not be able to support any cattle.
Another effect is that the free rider problem can lead to a situation in which people do not have access to important goods and services. This is because providers may not be able to get back the costs of providing the goods or services if too many people free ride. Imagine that a city decides to build a new hospital through donations. If too many people rely on others to donate, rather than donate themselves, then the hospital may not be built at all. This means that people who need medical care in the area may not have access to it.
There are several solutions to the free rider problem. Government addresses the problem by collecting tax dollars to support public services. Theoretically, taxes are related to income, so fair cost-sharing can be achieved. Communities can turn their public resource into a private or club resource, charging fees to make sure everyone who uses it contributes to it. This will limit overuse and, over time, may even lead to altruistic (利他的) behavior. That is, many people may like the idea of making a small contribution to a resource that they use.
