5. Drawing on the pool of domestic political events that have taken place over the past year (> February 2017), select an issue related to the provision of a public good and critically assess it as a collective action problem. If the problem was overcome, how was it overcome? If it was not overcome, why was it not, and how might it be? Collective Action is a unique concept, as despite it being an integral part of society, it is contradictory in it’s function with small groups often more successful then large ones in obtaining their objectives. Collective action is the rational calculus of the masses coming together in order to achieve a common goal of providing a non-excludable and non-rivalrous public good, where the benefits of such a movement …show more content…
The East West Link was a proposed 18km tollway joining the Eastern Freeway with the Western Ring Road. This project had numerous purposes, including helping Melbourne cope with a projected 30% population rise by 2033, and reducing the East-West divide in the city by creating more opportunities for business growth and jobs in the West (Eddington, 2008). However, numerous opposition groups arose to this project, including residential action groups, the Yarra city council, and the Greens. The primary reason these groups were formed were people did not want a tollway near there homes, and believed that investment in public transport and other infrastructure would be a far more suitable usage of public funds. The Labor Party narrowly won the state election, and subsequently cancelled the contracts, at the expense of 1.2 billion dollars. However, in the lead up to the upcoming state election this year, opposition leader Matthew Guy has proposed that should the Liberals take power, they are open to renegotiating contracts for an East West Link (Jacks, …show more content…
For The East West Link: R=Reward for participating in collective action for the East West Link B= Benefits; Reduced travel times, enhanced business opportunities in the Western Suburbs. P= The probability that the East West Link will generate these benefits C= The total cost of the East West Link, including cultural and environmental effects D= Other incentives provided to individuals who campaign for the construction of an East West Link, e.g. a labourer who gains employment if the construction occurs. Against The East West Link: R=Reward for participating in collective action against the East West Link B= Benefits; Reduced carbon emissions, investment in alternative transportation methods, less noise pollution in populated areas P= The probability that protesting the East West Link will generate these benefits C= The total cost of the protests, including the printing of posters, and the time of those
Light, Paul C., and Christine L. Nemacheck. "Chapter 7 Congress." Government by the People, Brief 2012 Election Edition, Books a La Carte New Mypoliscilab With Etext Access Card Package. By David B. Magleby. 2012 Election Edition ed. N.p.: Pearson College Div, 2013. N. pag. Print.
Mintz Eric, Close David, Croc Osvaldo. Politics, Power and the Common Good: An Introduction to Political Science. 2009. Toronto: Pearson Canada. 15,147,183.
Dickerson, Mark O., Flanagan, Thomas, and O‘Neill, Brenda. 2009. An Introduction to Government and Politics: A Conceptual Approach, 8th ed. Toronto: Thompson- Nelson.
The American Academy of Political and Social Science The Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science,(2013)
South University Online. (2013). POL2076: American Government: Week 4: People and Politics—Interest Groups. Retrieved from http://myeclassonline.com
The ADL is very large organization with vast influence benefiting millions of people around the globe, and according to Olson’s collective action problem members could be dissuaded from parti...
... Barreto, M. (2009). Collective Action in Modern Times: How Modern Expressions of Prejudice Prevent Collective Action. Journal of Social Issues, 749-768.
Polletta, F., & Jasper, J. M. (2001). Collective identity and social movements. Annual review of Sociology, 283-305.
With a 23-year time frame, The Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/T) project often referred as the Boston’s Big Dig is certainly one of the largest, most expensive, complex, urban infrastructure projects undertaken in the modern history. The “Big Dig” was conceived to improve the nightmarish traffic flow in downtown Boston. Big Dig’s high-stake players were Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff (B/PB), Massachusetts General Court (the Legislature), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA—in the U.S. Department of Transportation), Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MassPike), neighborhood organizations, business community, design & construction firms and the list goes on. Known for its schedule and cost delays, the project was driven by aggressive meeting schedule
The IAD Framework offers researchers a way to understand the policy process by outlining a detailed and systematic approach for analyzing institutions that govern action and outcomes within the collective action arrangements (Ostrom, 2007). Institutions are defined within the IAD Framework as a set of prescriptions and constraints that humans use to organize all forms of perpetual and structured interactions (Ostrom, 2009). These policies can incorporate norms, rules, and shared strategies (Ostrom 1990). Foundations are further outlined as being formal or casual; the previous described as principles-in-structure and the recent as guidelines-being used.
The dilemma of collective actions is an objectively existing social phenomenon. Western scholars create theoretical models about dilemma of collective actions and provide theoretical interpretations according to the reflections to the real world. “These collective actions will be problems such as short supply of public goods, overuse of public resource, disorder of public order, loss of public organization efficiency and anomie of public policy implementation.” (Chen tan, 2009, Theoretical Interpretation … under Non-cooperation Game)
When there is a dilemma that affects a group of people, actions by the right people can be
Polletta, Francesca and James Jasper. “Collective Identity and Social Movements.” Annual Review of Sociology 27.1 (2001): 283–305. Print.
(Turner and Killian 1987) cited in (Diani 1992, p. 4) define social movements as a “collectivity acting with some continuity to promote or resist a change in the society or organisation of which it is part. As a collectivity a movement is a group with indefinite and shifting membership and with leadership whose position is determined more by informal response of adherents than by formal procedures for legitimizing authority”. Turner and Killian regard a social movement as a peculiar kind of collective behavior that is contrasted to regularity and institutional behavior. Additionally, Turner believes that social movements do not necessarily coincide with movement organisations, although these organisations can carry out a large part of the movement tasks and it is often help to control and speak for movements (Diani 1992).
Collective action of any form has long been besieged by a multitude of problems. Organizers must not only recruit individuals, motivate them, and find the correct way to direct these individuals in order to achieve goals. The resources needed to prompt collective action have varied throughout history as changes in technology have allowed organizers to tackle challenges to collective action in ever easier ways. This proposal seeks to examine two widely publicized movements that achieved varying levels of success in order to determine how effective traditional responses to challenges in collective action have been when organizers can utilize new technology.