ABSTRACT
Research schools teach how to observe the world. Their concepts and variables depict what is "out there"; their hypotheses detail how the components of the world relate to each other; and where the hypotheses are tightly knit, they produce theories with wide scope. Explanations necessarily take on the assumptions, concepts, language, and mode of analysis of the covering hypotheses, the theories to which they are tied, and the research schools from which they come. The research schools of political science vary in the extent to which they offer closed theoretical systems. The approach known as rational choice or rational action theory offers a distinctive strategy for political analysis. Rational action theory assumes that all persons are rational maximizers of self-interest, calculating the value of alternative goals and acting efficiently to obtain what they want. The problem of collective action stands as a classic question for the research school.
