ABSTRACT
The most controversial issue in the contemporary literature on collective action has probably been that of the effect of group size on the likelihood of group success. Indeed, Olson’s central conclusion is stated in terms of group size: large groups will fail; small groups may succeed. In the original statement, this seems to be tautological but nevertheless to have bite. 1 It is seemingly tautological, being logically derived—hence thelogic of collective action—but the extended controversy over the issue of size effects suggests that Olson’s conclusion was not so clearly tautological. It will be useful here to go over the ground of the controversy in order to clarify the extent to which the size effects are tautologically derived (and hence unarguable) and the extent to which they are not.
