ABSTRACT
Collective action theory and research investigate the social and psychological factors that influence people, organizations, and nations to join or avoid collective activities and to succeed or fail in efforts to change sociopolitical conditions. After reviewing diverse conceptualizations of collective action, this chapter examines four intertwined theories that seek to explain aspects of economic collective action and the production of public goods, which are products or services benefiting the members of a society and typically provisioned through public taxes. Then these theories – free-riding, tragedy of the commons, prisoners’ dilemma, and institutional analysis and development framework – are applied to understanding collective (in)action on global warming, an existential threat to the planet and humanity. Most theories of economic collective action are found wanting as credible explanations for the dithering international response to the global warming crisis. A fourth theory – a polycentric model drawn from the institutional analysis and development framework – although promising and optimistic, is thus far inconclusive about whether current subglobal developments will ultimately converge on a viable solution. A too-slow maturation of polycentric projects runs the risk of crossing the point of no return, possibly within the next two decades.
