Solutions to Collective Action Problems

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the 20th century grade: 14 Frankfurt School of Finance & Management language: English abstract: Collective action problems describe a situation where aggregated individual rational behaviour creates decreased collective welfare. They can be described as social dilemmas according to Holzinger 2003. Based on this definition it is possible to identify a discrepancy in between what is regarded rational on an individual level and the collective common good. Therefore in a collective action problem micro-level behaviour translates into undesirable macro-level effects which manifest in decreased collective welfare. Based on this first definition this study focuses on two central aspects: 1. providing a possible explanation of how collective action problems derive from rational individual behaviour 2. providing possible solutions to collective problems. To put abstract theory into a reality oriented context this study furthermore focuses in the discussion of the nature and problematics of collective action problems on Hardin's tragedy of the commons (ToC).