Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative demands that we act only on principles that could hold as universal law. Apply that test to free-riding, and the conclusion is immediate. If everyone refused to produce and simply claimed a share of what others created, there would be nothing left to claim. Therefore, the maxim “I may consume without contributing” cannot be universalized. It collapses the moment it is generalized. In a free society, the rule must run the other way: no one may ride for free. 

The practical expression of that rule is visible in the people who still do the foundational work. The farmer grows the food. The lineman keeps the power flowing. The construction worker raises the buildings that shelter us. Their output is the surplus on which every other claim rests. When large numbers of people live as permanent claimants — supported by taxes, inflated costs, and administrative transfers — the productive minority is forced to carry them. The arrangement violates the Kantian test. It can continue only so long as enough people refuse to act on the same maxim that the riders follow.