ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an analytic definition of the collective action organization. Collective action organizations seek nonmarket solutions to individual or group problems. Collective action organizations usually have mechanisms for mass membership involvement in internal decision making. The potential for minority control and abuse of collective resources remains as much a threat in nominally democratic associations as in more overtly hierarchical firms and bureaus. Civil associations preserve civilization against barbarism; that is, against the disappearance of individual liberty and freedom. In order for societal freedom and liberty to prevail, intermediate groups must be autonomous and substantially self-governing. The fundamental issue in organizational governance is the distribution and legitimation of power among a collectivity’s participants. Public policy-making is the result of many social group forces, exerted by collective action organizations, that reach equilibrium in a decentralized but consensual democratic polity. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
