Pressure Groups Being Good for Democracy Essay

In a pluralist democracy like in the United States, interest groups have played a major role throughout the history through highly organized factions and are aimed at different levels of government. Lobbying is one of the tactics of the interest groups to aid their agenda through implementing new laws and regulations. "If you want to have your face in the light, you should have your back in the dark". Similarly, the influences of the interests groups and lobbyists have good and bad effects on the people and the society.

Interest groups can be both bad and good for democracy. The interest groups are able to lobby to congress to help out different organizations. They basically work on a “you do a favor for me and I’ll do a favor for you later” basis. This gives the lobbyist an influence over congress. They can be bad for the democracy because too much influence and power can be a bad thing. The issue they are lobbying for may not be a good cause.

Pressure group strategy and influence are “determined largely by factors such as size…financial resources, prestige position of the organization, quality of leadership and staff, and relations with the political parties…” (Turner, 1958, p. 64). It is these factors that make pressure groups, to some extent, incompatible with representative democracy as some groups are able to make their views heard ‘louder’ due to factors which can be difficult for them to change, such as the prestigious position of an interest group.

Public interest lobbies form a linkage element between citizens and governmental elites. In lobbying they articulate what they perceive to be the issue positions of certain sectors of society. Public interest groups also play an important role in facilitating the political participation of their members and related attentive publics. By helping to bring new issues to the table, interest groups influence the shape of political agendas.

As exemplified above, one decision could fit the bill for one of your groups, but then completely alienate another. Two, elections have gotten to the point where they more or less can be “bought”. If a tobacco company wants a politician to convince people to buy lots of cigarettes, all they need to do is write a big enough check to the campaign. In tandem, these two points raise an important question: how good can our government really be if it cannot effectively represent all people and support of a policy can be bought by those with fat wallets? This is an important question to think about, especially as our political environment becomes more polarized by the

25: ‘The most successful UK pressure groups still tend to focus on lobbying the Westminster

However, size of pressure groups can create a twist in the democratic process as well as how big your pressure group is in terms of numbers. The Countryside Alliance put out an amazing number of 300,000 sympathisers on the streets in 2003 for a protest on a ban on hunting with canines as well as issues in the rural areas. This caused an immediate panic of the government and which included an effort to run down the hunting bill in parliament generating a lot of scrutiny. But the large turnout did not reflect public opinion on the main issue of fox hunting, but they were in favour of a full ban. This represents a large population but it doesn’t necessarily mean they reflect the

An interest group also known as a special interest group or a lobby is an organized group of individuals, organizations, or businesses who share a goal. The interest group forms an alliance in support of their cause to influence public policy and government officials in the group 's favor. The goal of the group could be focused on small group, such as the Japan Eraser Manufacturer 's Association; or the goal could be focused on a large public group, such as family and friends of public school-aged children in the United States. Clive S. Thomas states, "The most important lobbying forces in any society are the various entities of government: national, regional, and local government agencies and institutions such as the military" (Thomas).

Democracy is a form of government. Demokratia is democracy in greek,Demo meaning the people and Kratia meaning power or rule. In ancient greece there were different empires or states with democracy and some did not have democracy at all. For example here in the United States there is democracy not much of democracy but for the most part there is democracy. Using the 4th and 5th century athens was generally a democracy. Even though athens was said to be a democracy they really were not a democracy.

In and of itself, the assembly of special interest groups is political participation, as citizens involved are actively attempting to interact with government. However, the population has since grown exponentially and the need for vast numbers of people to participate directly in protest movements has diminished since actions geared toward equality have been taken. Additionally, many people are not inclined to become government representatives or leaders in protest movements. Since political participation is a responsibility of the people, many of them handle this duty by voting to elect officials based on their beliefs and lending support to organizations that ally with their causes and values.

Pressure groups are organisations of people who believe in the same cause which have strongly held views and wish to influence some aspect of society. They are Groups of people working together usually have more effect than individuals.

Special interest groups are a group of people, usually formally organized that share a common concern and wish to influence public policy in some way. The goal of all interest groups is to affect government policy for themselves or to further their causes. A goal they have could be an exclusive policy that benefits group members or one segment of society or a policy that affects a larger group such as the public as a whole. An example of an exclusive policy is government subsidies for farmers and an example of a larger effecting policy is improving air quality. The main method special interest groups use to accomplish their goals is lobbying, which is trying to influence decisions made by legislators or other government officials. Whether a government is democratic, authoritarian, or totalitarian, interests are a dominant and permanent aspect of the political world. Furthermore, interest groups not only play a role on the national stage, they exist at all levels of government: national, state, provincial, and local. Interest

Pressure groups enable new concerns and issues to reach the political agenda, thereby facilitating social progress and preventing social stagnation. For example, the women’s and environmentalist movements.Pressure groups increase social cohesion and political stability by providing a ‘safety-valve’ outlet for individual and collective grievances and demands.Pressure groups assist the surveillance of the government by exposing information it would rather keep secret, thereby reinforcing and complementing work of opposition through political parties. Pressure groups thereby improve the accountability of decision makers to electorates.

A pressure group is a group of people with specific aims and interests. Also known as interest groups, lobby groups or protest groups, they try to influence political decision makers such as MPs and councillors to influence local or national policy and/or legislation. They seek to do so, either to protect interests of members (e.g. Trade Unions, NUT) or promote a cause (e.g. Greenpeace or RSPCA). Not all pressure groups are as successful as others, and there are many reasons for this.

A group can become a political interest group. A political interest group can make demands or influence the demands of society on an institution of government