When people engage in some public activity such as writing to their Member of Parliament or going on a protest march, it might be presumed that they have some specific end in view. They want to get some policy changed or, more narrowly, persuade the relevant authority to attend to a problem they are facing. However, some action is less directive than this suggests. One reason people act in a public fashion may be to express in more general terms their standpoint on an issue, without any expectation that there will be any immediate and obvious benefit to themselves (see Hardin 1982:108–12). Sometimes gratification is a by-product of action which is intended to bring about a specific result (Elster 1983: 97–100). As well as gaining the desired end (or even where the goal has not been achieved), a person may feel that there has been an educative effect whereby one has learned more about the political system, the aspirations of others and even about one's own priorities. There are other rewards derived from political participation which help give it a particular character, or ‘charm’ as Richard Crossman called it, even though they are not in themselves ‘political’. For some participants in a group, a party or a demonstration, activity brings camaraderie, affection, a sense of service. Those who are able to occupy places of influence may also hope to gain power or even wealth from politics.