This is philosophy bites with me David Edmonds and me Nigel War Burton.

Philosophy bites is available at W.

philosophy bites.com.

Why should I bother voting when it's most unlikely my vote will make a difference to the outcome

why should I pay my taxes there an insignificant drop in the national budget

why should I switch off lights there an insignificant drop in the national budget.

Why should I switch off lights?

My actions alone will have a negligible impact on climate change.

Why, in other words, should I not free ride on the decent actions of others?

The free rider problem has puzzled political scientists for decades.

Emmanuel Kent, or followers of the golden rule, have an easy solution.

I should act in a way that I will all others to act, since

I don't wish others to leave their light bulbs on, nor should I. But most political thinkers

nowadays believe the free rider problem poses a real dilemma.

From the individual's point of view, it seems entirely rational to free ride.

Richard Tuck, Professor of Government at Harvard University, disagrees.

Richard Tuck, welcome to Philosophy Bites.

Thank you very much. This is going to be good fun, I think.

The topic we're going to focus on today is the Free Rider Problem.

Could you just say what that is?

Well, yes, I mean, ever since roughly speaking in the middle of the 20th century,

political scientists began to argue that there are a number of extremely important

...