In 1970 Buchanan said that the phrase "Samaritan's dilemma" was used by economists to describe how a benevolent individual or institution transfers what was intended to be short-term charity to those in need, only to find that those on the receiving end are not using the assistance to improve themselves but instead became dependent on the relief.
"[5][3] Buchanan shared his concerns with the MPS membership that the ideal university as "ivory tower" had transformed into an "institutional location for the free spirits, for the intellect gadflys, for the heretics of all ages.
"[3] Students, he wrote, had become disruptive, destructive, "unrestrained" "child-men", "animals...in the streets", lacking in a "sense of mutual respect and tolerance" and flaunting "ordinary rules of conduct".
"[3] He cautioned that neither the "ordinary citizen nor his political representative" have the courage to force major change by cutting off funding to these students.
[3] In his 1975 essay, Buchanan describes how societies, like individuals, need to make courageous decisions from a higher moral perspective to resolve "social problems" by avoiding the trap of asymmetrical situations between the Samaritan and those in need.