Something, something, game theory, and especially the subset of games that have a cooperate/defect dynamic. Left to themselves, individuals want to defect and

Something, something, game theory, and especially the subset of games that have a cooperate/defect dynamic. Left to themselves, individuals want to defect and get a free ride on the backs of those who cooperate. But if a critical mass of individuals cooperate—by choice, force, or persuasion—everyone wins. — It’s intellectually fine to be a libertarian and say, “even if the overall good is served by cooperation, there is a higher value in having the freedom to defect.” But you are correct that on the balance, it takes a society working together to achieve certain large-scale good outcomes that demand widespread cooperation. Whether those large-scale good outcomes are worthy of having less liberty is what certain debates are really about, even if people try to frame them otherwise, e.g. “Individual good, government bad.”