“Relational goods” and participation: Incorporating sociability into a theory of rational action

Abstract

Abstract. Theoretical explanations of why rational individuals would participate in politics remain unsatisfactory. This paper addresses the problem by developing and analyzing models which include among citizens' payoffs "relational goods," objectives which depend upon interactions among persons. The models predict more participation than do the standard approaches. For example, under some circumstances persons will be more likely to act if they believe others will act, contrary to free-rider logic. More importantly, conditions are identified under which leaders could increase mass activity. Thus, a model is provided of "mobilization" in terms of the preferences and decisions of a rational individual.

Watching alone: Relational goods, television and happiness

“…The concept of relational goods is emerging in economics as a new theoretical tool for the analysis of interpersonal relationships (Gui, 1987, Uhlaner, 1989. Uhlaner defined relational goods as goods that "can only be 'possessed' by mutual agreement that they exist, after appropriate joint actions have been taken by a person and non-arbitrary others" (1989, p. 254).…”

Political participation of ethnic minorities in the 1980s

“…The following argument has been developed in considerably more detail elsewhere by one of the authors (Uhlaner , 1980(Uhlaner , , 1986a(Uhlaner , , 1986b .…”

The Relational Dimension of Identity—Theoretical and Empirical Exploration

“…This notion of goods differs from the conventional use in economics; it goes beyond the restricted meaning of goods as commodities to encompass entities of an affective and moral nature. Relational goods 2 have been defined as the outputs of a relational (cognitive, communicative, and affective) nature created by interpersonal relations (Bruni 2008;Gui 2000;Gui and Sudgen 2005;Lopes et al 2009;Lopes 2011;Uhlaner 1989). As acknowledged by Gui and Sugden (2005), they emerge from human interactions in which the identity of the participants as particular human beings has affective and/or cognitive significance.…”