The Non-Rational Basis of Society

In his book Sociological Insight, Randall Collins explains that the development of
society is fundamentally non-rational. He uses the examples of cheating and the free rider
problem to describe how rational human behavior is detrimental to the creation of society,
while arguing that the non-rational actions of trust and social rituals bind individuals together.
In Collins view, cheating in a contract is a rational human behavior. Beneath any
contract, there is an implicit contract that both sides will follow the agreement. Since there is no
guarantee that the other side may or may not live up to the rules of the agreement, cheating is a
foolproof method of minimizing losses (Collins 10). For the cheater, the worst case scenario is
no net gain or loss, whereas in the best case scenario, you get their contribution and put out
nothing yourself (Collins 10). Agreeing to the contract is rationally flawed, since there are more
severe consequences if cheated. Collins believes that in a purely rational world, nobody would
enter into a contract and form society because the implicit contract is not binding. Humans would
never get together due to their rational, suspicious nature.
Along with the concept of cheating, Collins brings up the free rider problem to exemplify
the flaws of a purely rational society. It is in an individuals best interest to gain a service while
contributing nothing, and instead riding on the contributions of others. It is easy and more
rational to think that one persons actions will not make a different in the large scope of society.
In the case of throwing trash in public places, those who try to throw trash away in the proper
location are driven by some kind of moral sentimentirrational phobia about messiness, and
not a sense of rationality (Collins 17). In other words, there is a non-rational force driving
individuals in society to contribute, which leads to a stronger and close-knit community.

Therefore, Collins and Durkheim believe that instead of a rational basis for society, the
non-rational force of trust is what allows individuals to form contracts and societies. This trust is
facilitated by the social rituals which become surrounded with a kind of symbolic halo or
righteousness (Collins 29). Group solidarity increases, and the society gains a moral standard.
Just as people benefit more when in a close-knit community, group situations are a very
powerful way to gain confidence and energy (Collins 40). The emotions are contagious, nonrational, and bind the group closer together.
The rational thinking of humans leads to problems like cheating and the free rider
situation, which ultimately break society apart. Collins asserts that trust and social rituals, the
non-rational motives that bind humans, are the critical underpinning beneath society, leading it to
the stable but dynamic entity it is today.