Collective Action Overrated

President Obama presents American history as a “journey,” during which, at every crucial turn, we discovered “together” that “preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.” His examples include efforts led by the federal government: interstate highways, financial regulation, the New Deal-Great Society safety net and victory in war. His gist is that large numbers of people do not naturally band together to secure common interests. In fact, the larger the group, the less likely it is to act in a truly collective manner.