Collective Action

Collective action refers to the coordinated efforts of groups of people to pursue shared interests or goals, whether through protests, strikes, social movements, community projects, or voluntary cooperation. Mancur Olson’s The Logic of Collective Action argued that rational individuals have an incentive to free ride on the efforts of others when benefits are shared, so large groups often fail to organize without selective incentives or coercion. Elinor Ostrom challenged this pessimism by showing that communities can design rules to manage common resources cooperatively. Charles Tilly examined repertoires of contention and the mobilization of resources, and resource mobilization theorists such as John McCarthy and Mayer Zald emphasized organization and funding. Emile Durkheim’s analysis of collective effervescence and Gustave Le Bon’s work on crowds offered earlier accounts of group behavior, while Neil Smelser’s value-added theory outlined the conditions that give rise to collective behavior. Doug McAdam and Sidney Tarrow developed the political opportunity approach, and Alberto Melucci stressed the role of collective identity. Digital media have created new forms of connective action, as described by Lance Bennett and Alexandra Segerberg. Collective action remains central to research on social movements, labor, politics, and social change.