Mancur Olson

"Trade associations will always be more effective than consumer groups in the political process."

"The logic of collective action explains why democracy often fails to serve the public interest."

"Selective incentives are necessary to overcome the free rider problem in large groups."

"Nations prosper when institutions encourage productive rather than redistributive activity."

"The invisible hand of individual rationality can produce a visible elbow of collective irrationality."

"Economic stagnation is often a symptom of institutional sclerosis."

"Autocrats are constrained by their fear of being overthrown."

"The provision of collective benefits is not automatic but requires organization and incentives."

"Disorganized majorities are defeated by organized minorities."

"The growth of government intervention often stems from well-organized special interests."

"Industries protect themselves through regulation and capture of regulatory agencies."

"The stability of institutions depends on their ability to adapt to changing circumstances."

"Rational individuals acting in their own interest can produce collectively irrational outcomes."

"The test of a good institution is whether it survives competition with other institutions."

"Power grows out of the ability to organize others toward a common purpose."

"Encompassing coalitions have incentive to promote growth; narrow coalitions have incentive to extract."

"The problem of providing public goods is fundamentally a problem of incentives."

"Nations that fail to adapt their institutions decline relative to those that do."

"Corruption increases when organizations lack accountability mechanisms."

"The logic of collective action is as important to understanding society as gravity is to physics."

"Voluntary associations depend on solving the coordination problem among potential members."

"The most effective organizations are those that can make non-compliance costly."

"Institutional rigidity is the enemy of economic progress."

"Groups that successfully overcome collective action problems gain disproportionate power."

"Democracy provides no guarantee that decisions will reflect majority preferences."

"The distribution of benefits within a group determines whether it can sustain cooperation."

"Societies require institutions that make individual incentives align with collective welfare."

"Cartelization is the natural tendency of organized industries."

"The strength of a nation depends on the efficiency of its institutions."

"Public choice theory reveals that politicians are motivated by self-interest like everyone else."