If people can enter and exit at will, how is the question of the “free-rider” handled in the Gülen Movement?
“Free-riders” in a social movement are those who do not get actively involved if they think that it is risky or costly to them; they leave activism to others, yet take a share of any good or benefit achieved. The potential negative effects of this kind of “free-rider” attitude are limited by internal factors of the Gülen Movement, such as the participants’ choice of projects, self-fulfillment, altruism and vocation. In addition, face-to-face discussions, availability of information and communication channels, skilled leadership in SMOs, and self-willed choice of a network and freedom to exit or withdraw from service-networks in the Gülen Movement obstruct the development of the “free-rider” problem in the first place.
In faith-inspired service-projects, expectation of reward from God alone, the purity of intention, or the accountability to God for one’s deeds and intentions, which may all be called piety or God-consciousness, help prevent, or at least minimize, this problem.
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