Under the articles of confederation, the states faced a classic prisoner's dilemma for which of the following reasons? great britain still ran most of the penitentiaries in the united states. with no enforcement mechanism in place, no state would contribute its share of the revenue so long as it suspected other states might not meet their obligations. the efficiency of the design of government meant that no free riding occurred among the states. individuals paid federal income taxes, but the states were not required or expected to contribute troops to the war effort