Interest Groups in the United States

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Quentin Collins
6 years ago
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1 Interest Groups in the United States --Large majorities of Americans participate indirectly in politics by joining or supporting interest groups. --Around 90 percent belong to at least one interest group. On average, each belongs to two groups.

2 Americans Join Groups

3 Growth and Development of Groups Americans have a long-standing reputation for forming groups. James Madison was correct when he wrote in Federalist No. 10 that the causes of factions (groups of individuals with their own interests) were sown in the nature of man. Group formation has occurred in waves. --Before the Civil War, there were few national organizations. --The first two decades following the Civil War saw the birth of national agricultural associations and trade unions. --Another wave of group organization occurred during the Progressive Era (c to 1917). Most, but not all, of the groups in this wave had an economic basis.

4 Growth and Development of Groups (Cont.) The wave of group formation is the largest and most heterogeneous. Thousands of economic groups formed. Numerous nonprofit groups formed as well. Innumerable shared-interest groups have formed in recent decades. These include liberal, conservative, citizens, environmental, consumer, and watchdog groups.

5 PACs

6 Interest Groups Play Both Sides

7 The Nature and Variety of Interest Groups Membership groups - composed of numerous private individuals who make voluntary contributions. Associations - consist of corporate or institutional representatives who pay regular dues. 80 percent of interest groups represent professional or occupational constituencies, about half representing the profit-sector and half nonprofit. The other 20 percent of American interest groups particular interests/social movements.

8 How Interest Groups Influence Government Government Lobbying Grassroots Lobbying Electioneering, PAC s, and SuperPAC s Persuading the Public Direct Action Litigation

9 Government Lobbying Lobbying consists of interest group activities intended to influence directly the decisions that public officials make Lobbying has become a massive American industry over $3.5 billion spent in 2009 (even though we were in the midst of a terrible recession) Lobbyists spend most of their time providing allies in government with information and supporting arguments than they do trying to win over skeptical officials Many lobbyists are former members of Congress

10 Grassroots Lobbying Grassroots lobbying consists of attempts to influence elected officials indirectly through their constituents This tactic has been around for nearly two centuries, but decentralized political institutions and rapid advances in communication technology have made the strategy more attractive than ever

11 Electioneering and PAC s One way to affect the views of public officials more generally is by influencing who gets elected in the first place As the role of party organizations has eroded, and as campaigns have become more expensive, groups have become more active than ever before Political Action Committees (PAC s) are specialized organizations for raising and spending campaign funds, generally associated with an interest group PAC contributions tend to be small and are intended as a way of gaining access to public officials

12 Persuading the Public Issue Advocacy (ad campaigns that attempt to influence public opinion) have grown in prominence Direct mail groups compile lists of people who might be favorably disposed to their cause and send out letters and s soliciting contributions They make noise even beyond the campaign cycle, contributing to the permanent campaign

13 Direct Action Direct Action consists of peaceful sit-ins, protests, boycotts, demonstrations and even riots These groups are sometimes too disorganized to use established means of influencing government, or they may lack resources needed to exploit other strategies

14 Litigation Drawing lessons from the successes of the civil rights movement, other groups have all found the courts as a venue in which they can be heard (environmentalists, feminists, advocates for gay rights, the poor or disabled) Demonstrations in front of courthouses, letters and telegrams to judges, amicus curae briefs are all additional tactics

15 Forming and Maintaining Interest Groups (Who are the joiners?) People join groups when there are incentives to do so. Professor James Q. Wilson has identified three incentives: Social reasons (solidarity) Material reasons (membership delivers tangible benefits) Purposive - some join to advance a group s social and political goals.

16 The Free-Rider Problem A free rider refers to someone who benefits from resources, goods, or services without paying for the cost of the benefit. The free-rider problem is most prominent in large groups and those groups that have goals somewhat remote from the members everyday lives public goods - a commodity or service that is provided without profit to all members of a society, either by the government or a private individual or organization. Only groups whose membership is based on social incentives escape the free-rider problem. The implication for democracy is that small groups organized for narrow purposes have an organizational advantage. Such groups are called special interest groups, as contrasted with public interest groups.

17 Free-rider Consequence - Extremism

18 Overcoming the Free-Rider Problem One way to overcome the free-rider problem is to make those who benefit from a group s efforts contribute to the group. Thus, labor unions rely on closed shops. A milder form of coercion is to get government recognition for your group and its members (such as government certification of certain occupations). Coercion appears to be a declining means of overcoming the free rider problem.

19 Overcoming the Free-Rider Problem (Cont.) Another way in which the free-rider problem is overcome is through a social movement. When they occur, people are less likely to think solely of themselves and think more of what is good for the society. When this happens, free-rider thinking breaks down. It is difficult, however, to sustain social movements for a long period of time unless the movement finds a way to institutionalize itself.

20 Political Entrepreneur A political entrepreneur is an individual or a small number of individuals who takes the lead in setting up and operating the group. The reason for this is the political interests of the individual or the small group of individuals. Others are driven by a cause. Even government has contributed to the formation of groups through regulations and the need to implement them.

Interest Groups. Chapter 10

Interest Groups. Chapter 10 Interest Groups Chapter 10 The Role and Reputation of Interest Groups Defining Interest Groups Organization of people with shared policy goals entering policy process at one of several points. -Political