The logic of collective Action

by Cathleen Stgelais, June 2014

300 words

1 page

essay

Introduction

The logic of collective action is a book by Mancur Olson, Jr. that challenges the school of thought in the 60’s. The thought at the time was that if individuals in a group had similar aspirations, then they would act collectively to meet them and that the greatest threat of a democracy is the tyranny and exploitation of the minority by the majority. Olson argues that individuals will not participate in collective action but rather, some will free ride on the efforts of others.

Analysis

In this text, the author assumes that in a group, the majority will be inclined to abuse their power and therefore exploit the minority. The author also assumes that groups will only be dealing with pure public goods, which cannot be denied to any group member. The author provide evidence that pure public goods are non-excludable and “non-rivalrous” therefore any member of a large group has a right to them even if they are not contributing leading to exploitation such as is seen in trade organizations, medical associations, business pressure groups and the like (Warner and Havens 447). The greatest strength of this book is that it successfully applies advanced mathematical skills to the field of economics

Reaction

Overall, I found this volume to be quite fascinating and easy to read, since most economic texts rarely go beyond fundamental mathematics. What is most interesting in the book is the author's argument about why Marxism does not work in the way that Karl Marx predicted (Warner and Havens 449). In this line, one could argue that many economies still show the fruits of Marxism.

Conclusion

The book “The logic of collective Action” by Mancur Olson sheds new light to economics and its application in a practical context. It is one of the best books written about group dynamics and although some of its arguments may not be entirely correct, it still delivers insightful thought about economics of groups.

Works Cited

Warner, Keith W and Havens, Eugene A. “The Logic of Collective Action: A Review Essay.” Land Economics, 43(4): 446-450. …

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