The citizens of a country often refuse to pay voluntarily for national defense because ________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

National defense is a public good that benefits all citizens, whether they pay for it or not. This creates a free-rider problem, where individuals have an incentive to not contribute to national defense and instead rely on others to pay for it. This is because nobody can be excluded from being defended by the state, making it difficult to enforce payment for national defense.

The Citizens of a Country Often Refuse to Pay Voluntarily