But this is difficult to do.
Often individuals are unwilling to work for group goals. The terms below help com to terms with that factor. Later we will discuss how political benefits are more likely to be won by groups that can act collectively, that is whose members can be persuaded to overcome the tendency to freeride.
For now here are some definitions:
Political Entrepreneur
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/11/the-rise-of-the-political-entrepreneur-and-why-we-need-more-of-them/
What is Collective Action?
Wikipedia: Collective Action.
action taken together by a group of people whose goal is to enhance their condition and achieve a common objective.
Springer: Collective Action.
Collective action lies at the heart of any vibrant civil society because civic engagement requires individuals to work together as part of a group. In plural societies, political parties, interest organizations, voluntary associations, and religious congregations serve an important role. Putnam et al. (1994) said these associations all help to “make democracy work.” Meyer and Tarrow (1998) characterize contemporary postindustrial societies as “social movement societies” in which interest organizations and protest groups are nearly ubiquitous. Too often, however, collective action is taken for granted by civic activists and prescriptive theorists of civil society alike. It is easy to assume that, because people belong to groups with common interests, the members of that group will act in concert to achieve those interests. These assumptions are challenged by collective action theory.
LibreTexts: Collective Action.
Public education, elections, and lobbying: all of these are connected to collective action. Collective action pervades social and political life, and it is observable across all societies. Collective action is any activity in which coordination by and across individuals has the potential to lead to achievement of a common objective. . . . collective action can also lead to the achievement of narrower objectives, such as when a focused interest group lobbies for tax breaks that benefit a smaller segment of society. Collective action can result in benefits for all or for the few. That it encompasses such a broad range of actors, actions, goals, and outcomes explains the enduring interest that political scientists have in this concept.
What is the Free Rider Problem?
- Free Rider Problem:
It also occurs, if people can get away with making only a token contribution (Something less than their overall benefit) If enough people can enjoy a good without paying for the cost – then there is a danger that, in a free market, the good will be under-provided or not provided at all.
- Stanford: Free Rider problem:
Political science asks: What explains the existence of large-scale political participation, despite the incentives that favor free riding?
- Britannica: Free Rider Problem.
Olson argued that there is little rational incentive for individuals to contribute to the production of a public (or common) good, given the costs they would incur, because they will benefit from the public good whether or not they contribute. (One of the defining characteristics of a public good is that everyone benefits from it.) Olson’s thesis, which suggested that group mobilization to advance a common interest may be difficult, challenged the assumption of the pluralist school in political science, according to which individuals readily mobilize to defend the interests of the groups to which they belong.
What are Selective Incentives?
- Wiley Online Library: Selective Incentives.
Selective incentives are private goods made available to people on the basis of whether they contribute to a collective good. Selective incentives can either reward participants (or contributors) or punish nonparticipants. The concept of selective incentive is important for focusing attention on the factors besides the group goal that affect people's desire to participate in social movements. Selective incentives can be material, solidary, or purposive.
- Britannica:
individuals will not contribute toward a collective good if the extra benefits they accrue through receiving that good are worth less than the costs of their contribution. . . . Selective incentives are Olson’s solution to the collective action problem. Many organizations provide selective incentives on top of the collective good
- W.W. Norton:
The collective-action problem can be overcome through the provision of selective benefits; that is, benefits that are conferred only on those who join the group and contribute to the collective goods.
Types of selective benefits include:
- Informational benefits: Group members are provided with magazines, fliers, and other materials that keep them informed.
- Material benefits: Group members are given discounts and group rates by virtue of being part of the group.
- Solidary benefits: Group members benefit from networking and getting to know other group members with similar interests.
- Purposive benefits: Group members enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that they have contributed to a cause that they value
