I was having a discussion this weekend with the Treasurer of my fraternity and he was explaining to me what a problem it is to get everyone to pay their dues. According to him, dues collection is always a burden and there has not been a semester in which he has seen every member pay their dues. Some members never contribute, meaning as a whole we do not have the amount of money we should have in proportion to our members. Therefore the quality of philanthropic events, social events, and meals is of a lower quality than it should be.
It was immediately obvious to me that people were just free riding. As the number in the group grows there is less and less of a reason for individuals to contribute. The events, meal plan, etc will still go on as planned without the individual incurring a personal cost. It is difficult to exclude anyone from the enjoyment of these resources as because everyone is considered a friend and it is seen as wrong to deny a friend entrance to a social event or meal and so people can free ride. It is also non-rival meaning one person paying their dues does not inhibit another member's ability to pay their dues. Our dues as a whole then are underproduced because of this free riding problem.
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