The Open Matt Project

Free Riding Sharks

I am frequently approached with various political perspectives, ranging from the blind, raving right-wing to the blind, raving left-wing, and almost always I find myself pulling out the same leveling tool so that I can more clearly respond to them.

The tool is the notion of two bodies of people who as far as I can tell have been around, well, as far as I can tell. One body I call "free-riders," and the other is called "sharks." The free-riders are people who take advantage of systems to ensure minimal effort and maximal return. The sharks are people who care only about one thing - maximizing their power over the world.

Free-riders are the people who take handfuls of free stuff. They apply for social help that they don't need because it's simply easier; Free clinic services and supplies instead of their insured doctor, for instance. They don't look for work when there's unemployment checks on the way, and when the checks do run out they jump to the next tier of help - welfare, or whatever. The important nuance to free-riders that distinguishes them from the indigent is that they do have means and simply choose to live as much off of others as possible. Their ideal world is the land of the lotus eaters, free from care or conscience.

Sharks are the people who see the world in ladder form, where everyone and everything are just rungs to grasp tightly and step on. Everything they do, they do to increase their own power. It could involve money, politics, business, religion, fame, or military might and usually ends up involving all of them. They have no compassion nor sympathy, save for the moments they require to mimic it long enough to convince others they are not the bloodthirsty tyrants they really are. Their ideal world is this one, except they are god in it.

These two groups exist and I believe have existed for as long as humans have been around. In any given group of people you can spot these two through the bottom line results - one has hardly done anything and is quite satisfied, and the other is calling the shots. As the group enlarges they become more and more difficult to spot as their skills require that you not be overly aware of them; who want's a freeloader or power-tripper in their group? That's right, no one. So stealth is a requirement for them, though their behavior is so natural to them, they are likely unaware of it.

Both of them help me pare down any political theorizing I hear. When I hear about a great way for everyone to benefit from XYZ, I think of how the free-riders are going to eat it alive. When I hear about deregulating and hard (unchecked) freedom, I think about the drool running down the shark's chin. These two are my checks and balances of most of my ideological thinking.

Posted by Matt at November 19, 2003 12:47 PM

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