American Government
and Organization
PS1301
Friday, 12 September
Announcements
Double T Bookstore has received a
large shipment of Kernell/Logic book.
There are three locations where you can
pick up a copy:
1. 3204 4th Street
2. 4140 19th Street
3. 1103 University Avenue
Announcements
Web page is now available
Outline
A Case for Reform? Causes and
Consequences
If we want reform, what exactly are we
reforming?
Constitution, Institutions, Laws….
Today - Concepts Collective action,
Collective goods, Prisoner’s dilemma,
Free-rider
Concepts
Coordination
Prisoner’s Dilemma
Collective Action
Free rider
The Logic of American Politics
Choices are at the heart of American politics.
Politics arises from the need to choose among
alternatives when differences make it impossible
for all people to get what they want.
Thus choices breed conflict. Why?
 Conflicting interests.
 Conflicting values.
 Conflicting ideas about how to allocate
limited resources.
The Logic of
American Politics
Politics is how people attempt to manage such
conflict.
What happens when politics fails?
More formally, politics is the process through
which individuals and groups reach agreement
on a course of common or collective action –
even as they continue to disagree on the goals
that action is intended to achieve.
Collective Action Problems
In democratic nations, which are generally
large and complex in nature, every aspect
of political choice presents a challenge.
These may involve:



Combining and ranking preferences.
Agreeing on a course of action.
Implementing and enforcing the collective
choice.
Collective Action Problems
Two classes of challenges to efforts of a group
to reach and implement agreements (collective
action) are important to discuss:


Coordination. Each member of the collectivity agrees
on what it wants; each is prepared to contribute to the
collective effort but must figure out how to coordinate
his or her effort with those of others.
The Prisoner’s Dilemma. Arises whenever individuals
decide that even though they support some collective
undertaking, they are personally better off pursing an
activity that rewards them individually while
undermining the collective effort.
Coordination
Coordination problems increase with the
size of the group.
Examples:


Quartet versus symphony orchestra.
House versus Senate.
The Prisoner’s Dilemma
Every successful political exchange must tacitly
solve the Prisoner’s Dilemma.
Each side, to get something, must typically give
up something of value in return.
Exchanges occur because each side recognizes
that it will be made better off.
But each side also worries that its partner could
renege on the agreement once the partner has
gotten what it wants.
Prisoner’s Dilemma: What you
Gain
Your Choice
Cooperate
Defect
Cooperate
Fairly good [+ 5] Good [+ 10]
Defect
Mediocre [0]
Bad [ - 10]
What’s the Most Rational Thing
to Do?
Cooperate or Defect?
If you know what the other person will do?
If you don’t know what the other person
will do?
The Prisoner’s Dilemma
Unless each side can trust the other to abide by
its commitments, they will not achieve a mutually
profitable exchange.
How is the dilemma solved?


Make reneging and defection very expensive.
Create institutions that guarantee agreements are
honored.
Free Rider Problem
Large groups must also contend with their
members’ temptation to free ride – that is, to
withhold their contribution to the group’s
undertaking.
Arises when citizens recognize that their small
contribution to the collective enterprise will not
affect its success or failure.
What happens if many people react this way?
Example: support for public television.
Free Rider Problem
How does one get around free riding?


Private inducements to perform those actions
the collective effort requires if it is to succeed.
Examples: direct benefits that come with
membership; government can use force of
law to induce participation or, more positively,
a tax break.
Tragedy of the Commons
Another form of the Prisoner’s Dilemma is the
Tragedy of the Commons.
Community has a collective good that is in
danger of being squandered unless members
cooperate to preserve it.
Common pasture and common practice of
adding a cow here or there to increase own
income.
End result: eventually, overgrazing strips the
pasture of its grass and the herdsmen go broke.
Collective Good
The definition of a public good is such that
“those who do not purchase or pay for any
of the public or collective good cannot be
excluded or kept from sharing in the
consumption of the good.”
Tragedy of the Commons
The trick to avoiding the dilemma lies in proper
institutional design.
The solution: link the individual’s personal
interest to provision of the collective good.
A decision to squander or conserve resources
must affect personal wealth.

Example of water: global shortage may lead to
privatization.
Force: setting up regulations on use of a
common resource and penalizing those who
violate them.
The Costs of Collective Action
Collective action offers participants benefits they
cannot achieve on their own.
One must weigh the potential benefits with the
various costs.
The key: design a system that will achieve the
benefits of collective action while minimizing its
costs.
Costs: some may be material -- tax payments
funding road construction or police salaries;
overhead costs of enforcing agreements that
accompany the judicial system or the IRS.