3. The collective action problem, also known as the “free rider problem” or as the “tragedy of the commons,” is the issue that arises when a public good is provided to a group, and individuals take advantage of said public good without contributing to the good’s creation or maintenance. Politics can resolve collective actions problems when the group involved makes the choice to, in the interest of benefitting the group as a whole, allocate the cost of creating and maintaining the public good, and to punish those who don’t contribute their part. An example of a collective action problem that a family may face is the trash. Everyone adds garbage to the trashcan, but if each person is acting in their own self-interest, no one would voluntarily
