BIOC 301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Mattress, Columbia University, Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight)
Document Summary
Participation in social movement is irrational for two reasons: It is against cost-benefit calculation: high cost, low benefit. High cost because you have to research about the campaigns and understand their point of views, stigma cost. Individual effort does not increase the chance of success. Collective action problem (free-rider problem)- olson, 1965: the (cid:498)my vote won"t make a difference(cid:499) concept, public goods: clean air, women"s right to vote. Individuals tend to evade participation in collective action (like social movements) because they still benefit from whatever is gained whether or not they contribute. People like to feel like they are part of something bigger and there is a nice sense of solidarity. Sometimes it does make a difference: critical mass- during specific times, it is better to participate in social movements such as elections period, war times, conducive political context- i. e. muslim bad, other reasons, social networks, values.
