In this blog post, we will explore the reasons why we should prioritize long-term social benefits over short-term gains and discuss the importance of living ethically.
Humans live in societies. Because we live alongside diverse others, we establish laws and rules that we must all follow, allowing us to coexist without harming one another. These laws and rules form the essential foundation for society to function smoothly. If everyone prioritized only their own interests and ignored laws and rules, society would descend into chaos, and ultimately, the consequences would come back to haunt them. However, there are quite a few selfish people who do not follow these laws and rules. These are people who engage in socially unacceptable behavior. Yet, from a short-term perspective, it seems that selfish people gain more benefits. So why should we live righteously? I will explore the reasons for living righteously by discussing the problem of free-riding in team projects—a common scenario we encounter—and ways to resolve it.
Before doing so, I will classify the benefits one gains through certain actions into two categories. First, self-interest in the narrow sense refers to the benefits one directly gains through an action, and these are short-term benefits. The direct benefits gained through selfish behavior fall under this narrow definition of self-interest. Second, self-interest in the broad sense refers to the indirect benefits that accrue to oneself socially as a result of one’s actions. These are benefits viewed from a long-term perspective.
From elementary school through college, and even beyond, we are evaluated on what we have learned and receive corresponding grades. In the educational process, grades are not merely indicators of an individual’s academic achievement; they are also crucial factors that significantly influence social trust and future opportunities. Evaluation methods include those determined solely by individual effort, such as exams, as well as those where multiple people form groups to produce a single outcome and are evaluated based on that result, such as group projects. The purpose of group projects is to encourage team members to collaborate and produce results that exceed what any individual could achieve alone. However, when it comes to evaluating the final outcome, the assessment is often based solely on the result, regardless of the process involved in completing the task. This is why free-riders emerge.
A free-rider refers to someone who uses a bus without paying the proper fare to reap the benefits. In the context of group projects, a free-rider also refers to someone who does not participate diligently in team activities but still receives credit for the work. Complaints about free-riders in group projects are commonly heard in conversations among friends on Facebook or Instagram. When searching the internet for information on group projects, the majority of results discuss free-riding, which indicates just how prevalent this behavior is. In fact, this problem is frequently observed not only in academic communities but also in workplaces and social organizations. The behavior of individuals who seek to share in the group’s achievements without faithfully fulfilling their own roles can be problematic in any field. Free-riding is a very selfish act because it harms team members by not participating in group activities while still receiving the same grade. However, I believe the problem of free-riding persists because there are no strong penalties for it.
The most basic way to prevent free-riding is to impose penalties for it. If a free-rider appears during a group project, you can record conversations or save the progress of the project to create evidence. Submit the assignment along with this evidence to the professor so that the free-rider receives the lowest grade. If penalties for free-riding are enforced strictly, potential free-riders will feel pressure regarding their grades and will consequently participate more diligently in group activities. However, there is one problem with this method. In courses where grades do not affect overall academic standing or where grades are not particularly important, some students may not care about their scores. Since these students are not concerned about their grades, they are highly likely to refrain from participating in group activities. The method of punishing free-riders only penalizes them in terms of their narrow self-interest, so it is ineffective for those who do not consider the group assignment important.
Therefore, to prevent free-riding in this situation, a broader approach is necessary. If someone acts as a free-rider, team members will initially dislike them and give them a poor evaluation. Furthermore, this reputation spreads to others, leading the free-rider to be labeled as a selfish person who takes advantage of others. This reputation does not merely affect immediate relationships; it also becomes a significant obstacle to building social trust in the long term. This will result in major disadvantages for the free-rider in any future activities, and they will face difficulties in forming social relationships even outside of group projects. This is because free-riders will avoid free-riding to prevent causing harm to others.
Furthermore, from a long-term perspective, free-riding becomes a factor that hinders one’s growth and development. While it may seem easy to earn credit in the short term, it ultimately prevents the individual from building their own skills and experience. Therefore, the most effective way to prevent free-riding is to persuade those showing signs of free-riding that such behavior will, in a broader sense, be detrimental to them. This approach is likely to be very effective.
