ABSTRACT
Under the logic of collective action, we should expect to see very little large-scale collective action motivated by narrow self-interest. There can be exceptions to this conclusion—for example, when the by-product theory applies. Exceptions might include business and farmers’ organizations, which can be centralized suppliers of valuable information to their members, labor unions once they have the power of the state behind them to compel membership, and various other organizations; but most large-scale interests cannot readily be included. Yet we know that many large-scale interests are organized. Most notably in recent times, the civil rights, antiwar, environmental, and women’s movements have achieved impressive levels of sustained organization and activity on behalf of the interests of large segments of the population.
