In economics, free-riding means using services, resources, and other public goods without paying (or paying enough) for them, a term often applied to tax cheats. Besides putting an extra burden on those who do pony up, free-riders can lead to lack of cooperation and cynicism, which in turn makes things worse. I've never heard the term applied to politics, but I think it could & should be: it means enjoying the benefits of government — peace, economic stability, rights & so much more — without being willing to contribute to maintaining them. A friend's partner, who's in his 40s, has never voted. He thinks (like an adolescent) that all politicians are corrupt; he will only vote for someone who is perfect & in perfect alignment with his own positions. I used to stop my mother from talking about politics - she lived in the United States for 70 years before she became a citizen - I believed she had no right to an opinion if she wasn't going to vote, if she hadn't committed herself to this country. (She became a citizen in 2016 at age 92 in order to vote for a woman.) I think of the long long lines of people waiting to vote for the first time in post-apartheid South Africa, many of them people who had dedicated their lives to acquiring that right, & it's hard to feel respectful towards people who spurn that right.
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