Mancur Olson Quotes

• Just as there can be little doubt that labor unions are a significant political force, neither can there be much question that this political force is a by-product of the purely industrial activities that unions regard as their major function.

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  Mancur Olson

  Political   Doubt   Unions  

  Mancur OLSON (2009). “THE LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE ACTION”, p.136, Harvard University Press

  1736

• Unions are for 'collective bargaining,' not individual bargaining. It follows that most of the achievements of a union, even if they were more impressive than the staunchest unionist claims, could offer the rational worker no incentive to join; his individual efforts would not have a noticeable effect on the outcome, and whether he supported the union or not he would still get the benefits of its achievements.

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  Mancur Olson

  Individual Effort   Achievement   Benefits  

  Mancur OLSON (2009). “THE LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE ACTION”, p.76, Harvard University Press

  3888

• Wicksell's old-fashioned liberalism is reminiscent of John Maynard Keynes' attitude toward conscription during World War I. Keynes opposed conscription, but he was not a pacifist. He opposed conscription because it deprived the citizen of the right to decide for himself whether or not to join in the fight. Keynes was exempt as a civil servant from conscription; so there is no need to question his sincerity. Apparently his belief in the rights of the individual against a majority of his compatriots was very strong indeed.

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  Mancur Olson

  Strong   Attitude   War  

  Mancur OLSON (2009). “The Logic of Collective Action”, p.90, Harvard University Press

  1816

• If the state, with all of the emotional resources at its command, cannot finance its most basic and vital activities without resort to compulsion, it would seem that large private organizations might also have difficulty in getting the individuals in the groups whose interests they attempt to advance to make the necessary contributions voluntarily.

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  Mancur Olson

  Emotional   Organization   Groups  

  Mancur OLSON (2009). “THE LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE ACTION”, p.13, Harvard University Press

  4474

• A small group is powerful in matters relating to a particular industry, because then it is normally the only organized force, but it is less formidable when questions which divide the entire nation are involved, for then it must take on organized labor and other large organized groups. The business community in the aggregate is for this reason not uniquely effective as a pressure group.

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  Mancur Olson

  Powerful   Pressure Groups   Community  

  Mancur OLSON (2009). “THE LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE ACTION”, p.147, Harvard University Press

  2502

• The money our society spends goes to appease those with power. As such, it goes mainly to those who don't need it. A nation that redistributes income to its poor buys a civilized and humane society, and it buys this with a miniscule share of the national income and a modest reduction in the supply of cleaning women. A country that subsidizes workers in the prime working years sacrifices, not a dust-free living room, but the very muscle of the national economy.

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  Mancur Olson

  Country   Sacrifice   Dust  

  3223

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