Fire fighting is a public good as well as an individual service.

If I'm paid up and my house burns down because they let my neighbor's house burn, the Randroids will be hearing from me, and my politeness will be sub-optimal.

Personal responsibility is good for some things, not for others.

Perhaps a story is in order. A true one, as it happens. It isn't a direct analogy, but it illustrates how Personal Responsibility on the part of the masses may not be the answer.

I used to work for an otherwise excellent company. It was a tiny, prized gem belonging to a megacorp, and a couple of times a year the big-shots would come around and talk to us. There would be a big off-site meeting, mandatory for everybody. There were never enough chairs. The big-shots didn't like people standing for the meeting. So we would all be warned to show up early so as not to be one of those standing in the back. After several of these meetings, me and my close colleagues were showing up (with the blessing of our managers) two or more hours ahead of time just to hold our seats. My manager was happy that my colleagues and I were taking personal responsibility and not being the problem. It was a huge expense - my colleagues and I were on the clock, and our time was not cheap. Yet there were still people standing. The big-shots were still pissed off. And the person responsible for renting the room (who once gave me a copy of Atlas Shrugged - I am NOT making this up) kept talking about Personal Responsibility. She never did seem to get it that if you rent fewer chairs than there are people, it doesn't matter how early people show up, there will be people standing.