Week 1 Discussion: Collective Action Dilemmas

Please choose one of the following questions and react to it briefly in the discussion boards.

• What collective action problems do you see in how citizens and the government are responding to the Coronavirus outbreak? Why is coordinating a response to  the coronavirus  so difficult. and what measures has our government taken to solve these collective action problems? Do you think these measures are adequate?

• The Constitution of the United States requires that each state be given two representatives in the Senate, (regardless of the size of the state). Think about modern American politics.  Is it a problem that small population states like Wyoming and Vermont have the same number of Senators as large states like Texas and California?  Do you think this should be changed? Why?

• The Constitution created the office of the President to help solve problems of collective action and coordination during times of national crisis. Think about the government’s response to the Coronavirus? How has the President helped mobilize the public response to the crisis?  Why is the President’s role in a crisis like this so essential?  What differences have you noticed between the Trump and Biden administration’s approach to Covid?