Inherently wired into the fibres that make up the fabric of every homo sapiens is the untold desire for freedom. This is a legitimate inclination because it is only within the ambience of freedom that the full potentialities of man is realisable. Besides, man was created as a social animal and he cannot but seek freedom instinctively in fulfilling his purpose of existence. No man desires to be caged! No man desires to be restricted. No man desires to be limited! Man by nature, is given to exploration, adventure, invention and discoveries. Often time when people frown at those who deliberately or indeliberately encroach into their privacy, their controlling interest is never in privacy itself but rather in freedom. They just wanted to be free. They wanted to be left alone. They wanted a relatively free and serene atmosphere under which they could have clearer view and perspective of the world. This natural passion for freedom has from inception, contributed immensely to the growth and development of man, not excluding his immediate society. The subject of freedom, indirectly though, has significantly broaden the world-view of man, and has increasingly presented man with inexhaustible opportunities to better deal with his environment, enlarge his coast and domain, and ultimately widen the horizon of his knowledge wisdom and understanding.
Right from the primitive stone age, even before then, the free man knew how to put light into darkness and explored the farthest, darkest regions of the earth in search of survival and other unknowns. Man, with the instrumentality of freedom, experimented with a number of things. He was able to sink a mine-shaft into the earth far from where anyone lived. He would descend on ropes, swinging back and forth. He knew how to find sapphires and gold dust – treasures that no bird of prey could see, no falcon’s eye observed, for they were deep within the mines. No wild animal had ever walked upon those treasures; no lion had set his paw there. Man was able to tear apart flinty rocks and overturned the roots of mountains. He would cut tunnels in the rocks and uncover precious stones. The free man would dam up the trickling streams and bring to light the hidden treasures. Man went about in his freedom vehicle busy looking for how to live a better life. Whatever he came across in his adventurous journey was regarded as one of the things necessitating the journey in the first place. This freedom heritage till date, permeates the entire life of an average man such that it is quite impossible to separate man from freedom. In fact, man and the phenomenon of freedom are inseparably linked.
Similarly, productivity and freedom appear to go hand in hand. Show me a man that understands and uses the concept of freedom properly, then I’ll show you a man whose productivity capability is indispensable and second to none. A free man is closer to innovation, invention and civilisation than a less free man. Undoubtedly, the growth and development of any society is a function of the number of people in the society that understand and use their freedom more thoughtfully. This is because the output of each free man has a pronounced effect on the overall output of the society. Each person therefore contributes indirectly to the wellbeing of the society which makes the provision of public goods and facilities possible.
While a handful of people keep devising ways of increasing their percentage freedom daily, there’s a striking revelation of a few others who are not only FREE but have also become FREE-RIDERS by choice. Unlike the original homo sapiens who genuinely sought freedom to exercise their muscles over nature in order to make meaningful contributions towards the common good of the society; this set of people only crave for freedom for personal aggrandisement. Nothing else apart from themselves interests them. They would rather collect from others than giving to them. Their public philosophy hinges on government providing opportunities to the citizenry with no commensurate responsibility from the citizens. These people are tagged Free-Riders! Free-Riders are a party of people who enjoys a benefit accruing from a collective effort, but contributes little or nothing to the effort. In our modern day, we have more Free-Riders than Freedom Seekers. Typical Free-Riders desire good roads, potable water, cheap energy and electricity, affordable health care, sound education system, social amenities, state-of-the-art infrastructures, defense and security, poverty eradication, etc but never desire to pay taxes. They always fall short in their civic responsibilities. Their own parochial interpretation of freedom is that they deserve to access public goods for free while they owe the society no duty whatsoever!
Different people fall into this category, individuals and corporate bodies alike. It is understandable that people who are not yet gainfully employed and companies that have not yet survived the incubation period may not be able to fulfill especially their tax obligations. But that doesn’t mean they cannot participate in other respects. They can still be useful to the society without necessarily being financially committed. They could offer services to the community in the area of their strengths or indulge in community friendly initiatives. Anyone who has good command of English or good mathematical sense can offer to assist O’level students who have serious challenges in those subjects. Our commitments and contributions to nation building are not limited to money and finances. We could participate in so many other ways even while we are yet to have disposable income. This is where the issue lies. The best, lasting and sustainable method of mobilising people for community transformation is not only about monetary donation but also a genuine mind involvement in the cause. If a person’s mind is not sold out to something, it is just a matter of time, he will soon start reducing the amount of resources allocated to that thing and will eventually stop someday. We might get somebody’s money and not necessarily get his mind. But there is no way we would get somebody’s mind and not get his money sooner or later.
So the truth is workers who are now Free-Riders didn’t become one overnight! They have always been ‘free-riding’ even when they were not working. If you don’t render a helping hand when you didn’t have to use money, it’s going to be pretty difficult for you to do so with your hard earned money when the time comes. If you could not donate your mind now free of charge, it will take the whole world to cajole you into donating your money in the interest of the society in future. Get back to your community. Get back to your neighbourhood. Think of something. Do something. Make a difference everywhere you find yourself. Use your freedom for socio-economic purpose. Increase your productivity level by fixing something. Don’t be a Free-Rider. Rather be a Freedom Seeker.
