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Mobilization to Achieve Collective Action and Democratic Majority/Plurality Amplification
Author(s) -
Rosenwein Robert E.,
Campbell Donald T.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00888.x
Subject(s) - collective action , ambivalence , democracy , action (physics) , mobilization , power (physics) , political science , politics , law and economics , political economy , sociology , social psychology , law , psychology , physics , quantum mechanics
This article extends the exchange between William Graebner, Miriam Lewin, and Ronald Lippitt concerning the politics and ethics of “democratic social engineering” and “action research.” It proposes the hypothesis that mobilization for collective action in a democracy requires majority/plurality power amplification. Areas of social science research are reinterpreted in light of this hypothesis, focusing on the conflict between mobilizing for collective action through majority I plurality amplification and the democratic injunction to protect minority voices. The ambivalence of those engaged in action research, and the roles social scientists take in these efforts, may reflect this conflict.