Preface

Politics is the subject of this volume. We can think of politics as those activities and behaviors associated with a group reaching “collective decisions” and with individuals undertaking “collective actions.” The true origin of politics may never be established. Some might believe it comes from our having fallen from grace by eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. My perspective leads to more empirical responses. Politics arises because groups of people have to do things together to achieve shared goals such as building a bridge or, under some circumstances, even survival. There are things that we cannot achieve when we remain “unorganized.” This is especially so when groups of individuals share a desire for something costly that they would accomplish as a group. Examples abound but include such things as roads, environmental protection, and law and order. In the social sciences these are known as “public goods.”

To accomplish the objectives of securing public goods, leaders are selected and rewarded, taxes are collected, and political competition arises. Often, however, these are the very activities that get in the way and actually prevent groups from getting things done in their own interest. This volume explains why these sorts of contradictions occur: why politics is necessary, but so often dysfunctional. Indeed, politics is often so nasty that some people become anarchists and argue that politics can’t possibly be justified by the welfare needs of the group members.