Social Production Functions, Deficits, and Social Revolutions

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Two issues are unresolved for a theory of social revolution: (1) Under what circumstances is it likely that different groups in a society become destabilized within a short period of time? (2) Given the potential for free ride and the high risks of participation, how is rebellious action possible? While written within the context of rational choice theory, the article departs from conventional rational choice theories in major ways. In particular, the new theory emphasizes the usefulness of regarding individual actors as producers subject to framing effects. By attending to the consequences of governmental actions for individuals, the theory supplies a new interpretation of what happened in prerevolutionary France and Russia.