Rousseau's distinction between the will of all and the general will shows that common interest, once recognized as such, transforms individual motivation by redefining self-interest.

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Common interest(as used in the statement about collective action): A goal or benefit that is shared by multiple people—something that would help everyone involved if it were achieved.
Rousseau: Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an 18th-century Swiss-French thinker who argued that people are naturally good but corrupted by society and civilization. He believed in the "general will" of the people and that legitimate governments should reflect what ordinary citizens want, making him hugely influential on democratic and revolutionary ideas. His writings on education, freedom, and social contracts shaped modern thinking about human rights and how societies should be organized.
Will of all(contrasted with general will): What you get when you just add up what each individual person wants for themselves, without thinking about what's good for everyone together.
general will(Rousseau's Social Contract): The collective will that emerges from an assembly of citizens, either through procedural constraints on self-interested deliberation or through the exercise of citizen virtue
self-interest(A motivation that Machiavelli suggests can align with the public good): A person's own personal advantage or benefit, what they want for themselves.

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