In the new book What Should We Do? A Theory of Civic Life, Peter Levine puts forth a blueprint for collective cooperation and action in the face of “collective action problems.” 

Levine cites examples of change—from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to Gandhi’s movement—that exemplify how individuals, acting within a group, are able to reason together, cooperate, act collectively, and compel change.  He then deconstructs the social and political mechanisms that worked to make those movements successful.

We speak with Peter Levine, professor of ​​citizenship and public affairs at Tufts University and author of What Should We Do? A Theory of Civic Life, about his new book and his theory on civic engagement.