The government is not above making mistakes. There can be instances where the government is inept at handling the failures of free market and only further compound the problem.This is where the need for collective action arises. However the collective action is constrained by 2 factors
1. the personal cost of taking part in collective action may outweigh the per person benefits that will accrue from the success of a campaign.
2. The problem of free-riding is rampant in the collective action scheme.
What can be done?
1. Olsons by-products : providing some level benefits to the people who are ready to bear the cost of collective action can galvanize people into joining the movement. For example: members of NSS are provided with a monthly stipend.
2. Political Entrepreneurship: E.g. Mahatma Gandhi
The tragedy of the middle class:
The middle class will find very few instances of collective action because the benefits from most issues that trouble the middle class cannot justify the cost of collective action.
To illustrate:
The auto-drivers in Kolkata will jump into collective action against the ban on 2/4 stroke autos because the benefits of livelihood far out-weigh. the costs. But the middle class man cannot be spurred into action just because the roads, water and electricity supply (that he is paying for) is substandard.
Because of this inability of the middle class to self-organize, none of the political parties will ever find it useful to represent such a passive section of the society.