Getting Involved with Other People: Moving from Individual to Collective Action

Abstract

The idea of taking collective action may seem strange to many people. Yet it’s something they do all the time. They play team games, look after each other’s children or go on holiday together. Often though it conjures up a different set of images, of placards, pickets and demonstrations. The nearest we may have come to them is signing a petition. But there’s much more to collective action than these stereotypes suggest. It may mean taking a turn on hospital radio or joining the league of friends, running our own housing or getting together in a residents’ association. Trying to have more say in our lives can involve both individual and collective action. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. One may affect the other. If we’re to make the best use of either, we need to understand them both. Let’s begin with individual action, as most people do.