Collective Action

Importance of Collective Action

What is the importance of collective action? Collective action is important because it can engender change that would not be possible if it were done by an individual. What do we mean by this? Let's take a closer look.

Recall that collective action will happen when people work together to reach some goal. Think about some groups or organizations that we may consider as collective action. You may think of interest groups like the AARP, or maybe a labor union like The National Education Association. Regardless of what comes to mind, think about how difficult their goals would be if the organization consisted of one person!

In the AARP's case, fighting for the rights of individuals over the age of 50 will be difficult for just one person. However, if there is a group that's willing to organize and fight for this cause, then the chances of success are higher. Of course, there needs to be a middle ground in group size, but certainly, any group size will be more effective than one individual.

This is the importance of collective action. Goals that are achievable in a group setting may be too difficult, or even impossible to achieve if it were just one person. Collective action gives a voice to many people to fight for goals that are important to them.

Collective Action Examples

What are examples of collective action? First, let's recall that collective action occurs when people work together as a group to achieve a common goal. From this definition alone, you are probably getting some ideas of where you may see collective action. Let's discuss a few here in detail.

Collective Action Examples: Interest Groups

Interest groups are an example of collective action. Interest groups are organizations that have an agenda they want to advance. In the United States, there are many interest groups that are fighting to get their agendas passed.

The NRA fights for gun rights and aims to teach people about gun safety in the United States. The NRA is a large interest group that lobbies Congress to uphold its stance on gun rights. In contrast, the AARP fights for the rights of individuals over the age of 50. The AARP will fight for things such as updating Social Security and implementing more robust retirement programs. Like the NRA, the AARP also lobbies Congress to implement policies that are in line with their organization.

Collective Action Examples: Unions

Unions are another example of collective action. Generally, workers form unions in their workplace when they are unhappy with their working conditions. Perhaps there are long hours, scant pay, and dangerous conditions that are leaving people unhappy. This could lead to workers organizing collectively to fight for better working conditions — unionization.

The National Education Association fights for better working conditions for public school employees. This may include teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, etc. The United Food and Workers Association fights for better working conditions for retail store employees and distribution employees. This could include hospitality workers and food manufacturing workers.

Fig. 1 - United States Labor Union Approval Rating¹

The graph above shows the recent United States labor union approval rating. As we can see, the approval rating for labor unions has increased in the past decade. In fact, 2022 saw the highest approval rating for labor unions in the United States since 1965.¹

Collective Action Problem

What is the collective action problem? The collective action problem states that group work with other individuals is difficult, given that conflicting interests discourage cooperation. Why is this the case? Let's take a look at a basic example to see how the collective action problem may play out:

As you can see from the example above, a collective action problem engenders when certain people in a group decide to pursue other interests.

The collective action problem can be mitigated if the group is smaller. In the example above, the size of the group was kept small for clarity; however, collective action problems generally encompass a greater number of people.

What are the barriers to collective action? The main two barriers to collective action are large group sizes and disorganization. One or both of these can cause the free-rider problem. The free-rider problem occurs when people who benefit from a good use it and do not pay for it. Let's go over a brief example of a free-rider problem to further our understanding.

As you can see, the free-rider problem can occur when people benefit from a good they don't pay for.

As you can see from both examples, collective action problems can engender from large group sizes and disorganization, which then can cause the free-rider problem. However, collective action can be successful and avoid the free-rider problem if the group size is kept small and the group is organized.

Barriers to Collective Action

What are some barriers to collective action? Let's find out through an example!

Now that we have an understanding of the free-rider problem, we can begin to see how small group sizes and better group organization can prevent the free-rider problem. Let's use the same example of the local library that is paid for through property taxes.

In the example above, the town that pays for the local library is much smaller, and the library has an efficient method to determine who pays property taxes and who does not pay property taxes. Now, the library has the opportunity to turn away anyone who does not live in the area since they do not pay property taxes.