The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups.

Mancur OLSON

Harvard University Press, 1965 - Business & Economics - 176 pages

This book develops an original theory of group and organizational behavior that cuts across disciplinary lines and illustrates the theory with empirical and historical studies of particular organizations. Applying economic analysis to the subjects of the political scientist, sociologist, and economist, Mr. Olson examines the extent to which the individuals that share a common interest find it in their individual interest to bear the costs of the organizational effort.

The theory shows that most organizations produce what the economist calls "public goods"--goods or services that are available to every member, whether or not he has borne any of the costs of providing them. Economists have long understood that defense, law and order were public goods that could not be marketed to individuals, and that taxation was necessary. They have not, however, taken account of the fact that private as well as governmental organizations produce public goods.

The services the labor union provides for the worker it represents, or the benefits a lobby obtains for the group it represents, are public goods: they automatically go to every individual in the group, whether or not he helped bear the costs. It follows that, just as governments require compulsory taxation, many large private organizations require special (and sometimes coercive) devices to obtain the resources they need.

This is not true of smaller organizations for, as this book shows, small and large organizations support themselves in entirely different ways. The theory indicates that, though small groups can act to further their interest much more easily than large ones, they will tend to devote too few resources to the satisfaction of their common interests, and that there is a surprising tendency for the "lesser" members of the small group to exploit the "greater" members by making them bear a disproportionate share of the burden of any group action.

All of the theory in the book is in Chapter 1; the remaining chapters contain empirical and historical evidence of the theory's relevance to labor unions, pressure groups, corporations, and Marxian class action.

What people are saying

Review: The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups

User Review  - Arthur Kyriazis - Goodreads

Mancur Olson is essential reading for anyone studying economics or any of the social sciences. He stresses that GROUP action and COLLECTIVE action is the motive force of society, and not the actions ...

Review: The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups

User Review  - Xthun - Goodreads

one of the great books of all times, a structure of the socio- human world

Contents

• A Theory of Groups and Organizations: 5
• B Public goods and large groups: 9
• C The traditional theory of groups: 16
• D Small groups: 22
• E Exclusive and inclusive groups: 36
• F A taxonomy of groups: 43
• Group Size and Group Behavior: 53
• B Problems of the traditional theories: 57
• C Social incentives and rational behavior: 60
• The Labor Union and Economic Freedom: 66
• B Laborunion growth in theory and practice: 76
• C The closed shop and economic freedom in the latent group: 88
• D Government intervention and economic freedom in the latent gorup: 91
• Orthodox Theories of State and Class: 98
• B The Marxian theory of state and class: 102
• C The logic of the Marxian theory: 105
• Orthodox Theories of Pressure Groups: 111
• B Institutional economics and the pressure group John R Commons: 114
• C Modern theories of pressure groups Bentley Truman Latham: 117
• D The logic of group theory: 125
• The ByProduct and Special Interest Theories: 132
• B Labor lobbies: 135
• C Professional lobbies: 137
• D The special interest theory and business lobbies: 141
• E Government promotion of political pressure: 148
• F Farm cooperatives and farm lobbies: 153
• G Noneconomic lobbies: 159
• H The forgotten groups those who suffer in silence: 165
• Appendix: 169
• Index: 179

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups.; Harvard Economic Studies, ISSN 0073-0505; The American studies collection; Volume 124 of The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, Mancur Olson
• Author: Mancur OLSON
• Edition: 15, illustrated, reprint, revised
• Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1965
• ISBN: 0674537513, 9780674537514
• Length: 176 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Economics / General; Social Science / Sociology / General