Political Science paper for 2 page
qiao1159
Day3-SolvingCAPs.pptxWhy Governments? Solving the Problems of Collective Action
Professor
Matthew N. Beckmann
1
Outline
I. Review of Collective Action Problems (CAPs)
II. Solving CAPs
1. Making the Decision
2. Enforcing the Decision
III. Constitutions and Governments
IV. How Can They “Solve” the “Problem?”
V. Conclusions
2
Review to Date
We started this class imagining a “dream” scenario – one in which every American acted in her own interest and in doing so also served the greater public good.
3
Review to Date
We started this class imagining a “dream” scenario – one in which every American acted in her own interest and in doing so also served the greater public good.
Example: I discover a cure for lung cancer.
I get rich (self) and the world is rid of a deadly disease (group).
4
Review to Date
But we also saw this dream often doesn’t work in practice. This is the Problem of Collective Action.
5
Review to Date
Collective Action Problems are situations in which individuals’ rational decisions lead to outcomes that undercut the group’s success.
These can occur even when
individuals support the group goal!
6
Review to Date
Three Types of Problems:
1. Coordination Problems
2. Free-Rider Problems
3. Tragedy of the Commons
7
Solving the Problem of Collective Action A First Point
Most people are not economists or political scientists! Real people often cooperate to help groups succeed.
Small Groups
Personal Connections
Repeated Interactions
8
Solving the Problem of Collective Action A Second Point
But not always (as we saw in class)!
And the more people involved, the harder it gets to solve these problems without something stronger than a personal connection.
9
Solving the Problem of Collective Action A Second Point
Remember, this is not because individuals are malicious, or even disagreeable. CAPs can arise even when everyone agrees to the group’s goals.
It is just that they either don’t know how to help (coordination) or don’t want to be exploited if they do (free-rider and tragedy of the commons).
10
Solving the Problem of Collective Action A Crucial Question
If individuals often get
mired in collective action problems,
how the heck do we avoid chaos (or worse)?
11
The Genesis of Government!
The answer is that we create a government that helps ensure we coordinate and cooperate.
Coordinate: Traffic Signals
Cooperate: IRS
12
The Genesis of Government!
Notice that this means we willingly give up some personal freedom in order to secure collective benefits.
This is the essence of a “social contract” – the notion that individuals agree to form a society and, in turn, abide by its rules.
13
The Social Contract & The Citizenship Test
US Citizenship:
Native: citizenship by birth.
Naturalized: citizenship by legal process.
The Social Contract & The Citizenship Test
Naturalized Test:
Qs are basically facts about nation and gov’t.
91% of you “passed” (on the module).
The Social Contract & The Citizenship Test
What would you ask?
“What is the second amendment?” – B
“Who wrote the first draft of 'The Declaration of Independence'?” – W
“Which burger chain is best in the US?” - R
The Social Contract & The Citizenship Test
If citizenship is essentially about a Social Contract,
what should we ask?
The Social Contract & The Citizenship Test
Note: You Can Renounce US Citizenship!
Requires paperwork and interviews to show you are doing this voluntarily and intentionally.
(Immediately lose rights, like the right to buy guns.)
Solving the Problem of Collective Action
Government, then, is key to…
1. Providing a way of making group decisions.
2. Providing a way of enforcing group decisions.
20
Settling on Collective Agreements, Making the Decision - Example
Pick Up Living Room
Vacuum Floors
Wipe Clean All Windows
Scour the Shower
Clean Sinks
Scrub the Toilets
Take Out Trash
Put Away Dishes
Settling on Collective Agreements, Making the Decision
Some Basic Options
1. Vote
(e.g., majority rule)
2. Delegate to a “Representative”
Other stuff
(e.g., rōsh for it; flip a coin; take turns; draft)
22
Settling on Collective Agreements, Making the Decision
We all agree to have a class pizza party.
Where do we want to get it?
1. Vote
(e.g., majority rule)
2. Delegate to a “Representative”
Other stuff
(e.g., rōsh for it; flip a coin; take turns; draft)
Collaborative Classroom?
GPA 2.66
Collaborative Classroom!
Collaborative Classroom!
GPA 3.3
Making the Decision Example Tragedy of the Commons
If you both choose Split: $50k to each.
If you both choose Steal: $0 to each.
If you choose Split & he chooses Steal: you get $0, he gets $100k.
If you choose Steal & he chooses Split: you get $100k, he gets $0.
What’s Your Choice: Split (A) or Steal (B)
(pick one)
27
Making the Decision Example Tragedy of the Commons
You both choose Split: $50k to each.
If you both choose Steal: $0 to each.
If you choose Split & he chooses Steal: you get $0, he gets $100k.
If you choose Steal & he chooses Split: you get $100k, he gets $0.
What’s Your Choice: Split (A) or Steal (B)
28
Settling on Collective Agreements, Enforcing the Decision
Primary Methods
Coercion
(e.g., prison; torture; death)
2. Selective Incentives
(e.g., tickets and taxes)
29
Why Government? The Answer in a Nutshell
It’d be great if people operating in simple self-interest worked out (indeed, it’d be a “dream”).
Such is not the case. Collective Action Problems abound.
To solve CAPs, citizens agree to give up some individual freedom in order to secure collective benefits.
We do this by ratifying a constitution, empowering a government.
This government makes and enforces collective decisions – by coercion or by other selective incentives.
30
We have now know the logic for why rational individuals might turn over power to a government: we can achieve things as a group that we cannot achieve as individuals.
A Little History
Of course, the idea that government should help ordinary individuals achieve their collective goals is not the only way to think about government.
In fact, it’s relatively new.
A Little History
Hail to the King…
Many ancient societies were run as monarchies under the idea of the divine right of kings – the idea that kings ruled because God picked them to lead.
A Little History
Such was the prevailing wisdom as the colonies got rolling. They were ruled by the divine British Kings (James I, early on).
A Little History
In practice, however, the colonies enjoyed considerable autonomy. They agreed the king ruled by divine right, but they also governed themselves with locally-elected officials, courts, and economic organizations.
A Little History
By the 1760s, the colonies had become so self-sufficient, politically and economically, that their reliance on (& loyalty to) the King weakened.
Not surprisingly, King George III wasn’t too happy. He was paying a ton to protect his colonies, but his colonists did not give much in return.
A Little History
1754-1763 French & Indian War
1764 Sugar Act
1765 Stamp Act
1773 Tea Act
1773 Boston “Tea Party”
1774 Coercive Acts
1776 Thomas Paine’s Common Sense Published
The Coercive Acts aka The Intolerable Acts
Quartering Act: Established March 24, 1765 Required colonial authorities to offer barracks & supplies to British troops.
Boston Port Bill: Effective June 1, 1774: Closed the port of Boston to all colonists until damages from the Boston Tea Party were paid.
Administration of Justice Act: Effective May 20, 1774 Stated that British Officials could not be tried in provincial courts for capital crimes.
Massachusetts Government Act: Effective May 20, 1774 Effectively annulled the colony’s charter, giving the British Governor control of the town meetings, taking control away from colonialists.
A Little History
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
- attacked notion of hereditary monarchy
- dismissed idea of working it out with England
- outlined economic benefits of independence
- went platinum (or whatever)
A Little History
Key Folks…
Thomas Hobbes
John Locke
Jean Rousseau
Voltaire
Key Concepts…
Natural Law
Social Contract
The Declaration of Independence
Written by
Thomas Jefferson
with help from
Benjamin Franklin
and John Adams
The Declaration of Independence
…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…
The Declaration of Independence
…That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…
The Declaration of Independence
…That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…
Ideas Into Action
Notice, the Declaration gets the Framers’ to where we just were: governments are instituted among men to help achieve their collective goals (social contract).
Ideas Into Action
Now the challenge was how to do it?
“You must first enable the government to control the governed: and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
– Federalist 51
Ideas Into Action
Earlier we said there were two practical ways to make decisions about collective goals: vote or delegate.
Ideas Into Action
Having everyone vote to decide every policy issue would be impossible, and wouldn’t be desirable anyway.
Ideas Into Action
So we delegate power to “representatives” who decide for us. This is why the founders referred to our government as a republic (rather than a democracy).
The challenge is keeping them focused on the “the people’s” interests rather than serving their own.
Ideas Into Action
One answer would just be to pick a “perfect” representative – an absolute ruler who exercises knows society’s collective interests and uses his or her political power to serve it.
(“Benevolent dictator” or “Enlightened Despot” are terms people have used to capture this idea.)
Ideas Into Action
Of course, humans aren’t perfect, and often they are far from benevolent.
So if you can’t rely on a “perfect” representative, what can you do?
Ideas Into Action
The answer:
1. Choose Best Possible Representatives
2. Monitor Their Actions
3. Reward or Punish
Ideas Into Action
1. Choose Best Possible Representatives
a. Free Elections
b. Fair Elections
c. Competitive Elections
Ideas Into Action
2. Monitor Their Actions
a. Transparent Process
b. Viable Opposition
c. Free Press
Ideas Into Action
3. Reward or Punish
a. Free Elections
b. Fair Elections
c. Competitive Elections
d. Frequent Elections
Conclusion
During the last class we saw why rational individuals would want to form a government. What remained unclear was what type of government they should want.
Now we know…
Conclusion
Ordinary people should want one where…
1. Elections are free, fair, competitive, and frequent.
2. Governance is transparent, debated, with a free press.
Conclusion
"Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried."
Winston Churchill
