Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. …...Types of Interest Groups LO 11.5: Identify the various types of interest groups and their policy concerns. •Economic Interests •Environmental

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman



Chapter 11: Interest Groups

• The Role of Interest Groups

• Theories of Interest Group Politics

• What Makes an Interest Group Successful

• How Groups Try to Shape Policy

• Types of Interest Groups

• Understanding Interest Groups

• Summary


Chapter Outline and Learning

Objectives


• LO 11.1: Describe the role of interest

groups in American politics.


• LO 11.2: Compare and contrast the theories

of pluralism, elitism, and hyperpluralism.



Objectives

• What Makes an Interest Group Successful

• LO 11.3: Analyze the factors that make some interest groups more successful than others in the political arena.


• LO 11.4: Assess the four basic strategies that interest groups use to try to shape policy.



Objectives


• LO 11.5: Identify the various types of

interest groups and their policy concerns.


• LO 11.6: Evaluate how well Madison’s

ideas for controlling the influence of

interest groups have worked in practice.

The Role of Interest Groups LO 11.1: Describe the role of interest groups

in American politics.

• Interest Group

• An organization of people with shared

policy goals entering the policy process at

several points to try to achieve those goals.

• Interest groups pursue their goals in many

arenas.

To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman


The Role of Interest Groups

• Interest groups are distinct from

political parties.

• Political parties fight election battles;

interest groups do not field candidates for

office but may choose sides.

• Interest groups are policy specialists;

political parties are policy generalists.

LO 11.1

To Learning Objectives

Theories of Interest Group Politics LO 11.2: Compare and contrast the theories

of pluralism, elitism, and hyperpluralism.

• Pluralism

• Elitism

• Hyperpluralism



Theories of Interest Group Politics

• Pluralist Theory

• Competition among groups trying to get

their preferred policies.

• Elite Theory

• Upper-class elite holds most of the power

and run government.

• Hyperpluralist Theory

• Groups are so strong that government is

weakened.

LO 11.2




• Pluralism

• Groups provide a link between the people

and the government.

• Groups compete and no one group will

become too dominant.

• Groups play by “rules the game.”

• Groups weak in one resource may use

another.

• Lobbying is open to all groups. To Learning Objectives

LO 11.2



• Elitism

• Groups are unequal in power.

• Awesome power is held by the largest

corporations.

• Power of a few is fortified by interlocking

directorates.

• Other groups win minor policy battles, but

corporate elites win the big decisions.


LO 11.2


LO 11.2



• Hyperpluralism

• Groups have become too powerful as government tries to appease every conceivable interest.

• Interest group liberalism is aggravated by numerous iron triangles.

• Trying to please every group results in contradictory and confusing policy.


LO 11.2

What Makes an Interest Group

Successful LO 11.3: Analyze the factors that make some

interest groups more successful than others

in the political arena.

• The Surprising Ineffectiveness of

Large Groups

• Intensity

• Financial Resources


LO 11.3




Successful

• Surprising Ineffectiveness of Large Groups

• Potential group – People who might be group members because they share some common interest.

• Actual group – Potential group members who actually join group.

• Collective good – Something of value that cannot be withheld from a potential group member.


LO 11.3



Successful

• Surprising Ineffectiveness of Large

Groups (cont.)

• Free-rider problem – Problem of people

not joining because they can benefit from

the group’s activities without joining.

• Selective benefits – Goods that a group

can restrict to those who actually join.


LO 11.3


LO 11.3



Successful

• Intensity

• A large potential group may be mobilized through an issue that people feel intensely about.

• Politicians are more likely to listen a group that shows it cares deeply about an issue.

• Single-issue groups – Narrow interest, dislike compromise, and members are new to politics.


LO 11.3



Successful

• Financial Resources

• Not all groups have equal amounts of money.

• Monetary donations translate into access to the politicians, such as a phone call, meeting, or support for policy.

• Wealthier groups have more resources and access, but they do not always win on policy.


LO 11.3

How Groups Try to Shape Policy LO 11.4: Assess the four basic strategies

that interest groups use to try to shape

policy.

• Lobbying

• Electioneering

• Litigation

• Going Public



How Groups Try to Shape Policy

• Lobbying

• Communication to a governmental decision

maker with the hope of influencing his or

her decision.

• Lobbyists are (1) a source of information;

(2) helping to get legislation passed; (3)

helping to formulate campaign strategy;

and (4) a source of ideas and innovations.

LO 11.4



LO 11.4


LO 11.4



• Electioneering

• Direct group involvement in the electoral

process by helping to fund campaigns,

getting members to work for candidates,

and forming political action committees

(PACs).

• PACs are political funding vehicles created

by the 1974 campaign finance reforms.


LO 11.4



• Litigation

• Amicus curiae briefs – Written arguments

submitted to the courts in support of one

side of a case.

• Class action lawsuits – Enable a group of

people in a similar situation to combine

their common grievances into a single suit.


LO 11.4



• Going Public

• Groups try to (1) cultivate a good public

image; (2) build a reservoir of goodwill with

the public; (3) use marketing strategies to

influence public opinion of the group and

its issues; and (4) advertise to motivate

and inform the public about an issue.


LO 11.4


LO 11.4

Types of Interest Groups LO 11.5: Identify the various types of

interest groups and their policy concerns.

• Economic Interests

• Environmental Interests

• Equality Interests

• Consumer and Other Public Interest

Lobbies



Types of Interest Groups

• Economic Interests

• Labor – Union organizations press for

policies to ensure better working conditions

and higher wages.

• Business – Interests generally unified

when it comes to promoting greater profits

but are often fragmented when policy

choices have to be made.

LO 11.5



LO 11.5


LO 11.5



• Environmental Interests

• Environmental groups promote policies to

control pollution and to combat global

warming, wilderness protection, and

species preservation.

• They oppose supersonic aircraft, nuclear

power plants, drilling in Alaska’s Arctic

National Wildlife Refuge, and strip mining.


LO 11.5


LO 11.5



• Equality Interests

• Two sets of interest groups, representing

minorities and women, have made equal

rights their main policy goal.

• Equality groups press for equality at the

polls, in housing, on the job, in education,

and in all other facets of American life.


LO 11.5




Lobbies

• Public interest lobbies – Groups that

seek a collective good, and the

achievement of which will not selectively

and materially benefit the membership or

activists of the organization.


LO 11.5




Lobbies (cont.)

• Consumer groups – In 1973, Congress

responded to consumer advocacy by

creating the Consumer Product Safety

Commission, which it authorized to

regulate all consumer products and to ban

products that were dangerous.


LO 11.5

Understanding Interest Groups LO 11.6: Evaluate how well Madison’s ideas

for controlling the influence of interest

groups have worked in practice.

• Interest Groups and Democracy

• Interest Groups and the Scope of

Government



Understanding Interest Groups

• Interest Groups and Democracy

• James Madison wanted a wide-open system in which groups compete.

• Pluralists – Public interest prevails from this competition.

• Elite theorists – Proliferation of business PACs is evidence of interest group corruption.

• Hyperpluralists – Influence of groups lead to policy gridlock.

LO 11.6



Understanding Interest Groups

• Interest Groups and the Scope of

Government

• Interest groups seek to maintain policies

and programs that benefit them.

• Interest groups pressure government to do

more things.

• As the government does more, more

groups form to get more.


LO 11.6


LO 11.1 Summary


• Interest groups consist of groups that

participate in the political process in order to

promote the policy goals which members

share.

• They usually focus their efforts on one specific

issue area, unlike political parties, which have

to address all issues on the public agenda.



Interest groups are often policy

.

A. specialists

B. generalists

C. regulators

D. implementors

LO 11.1



Interest groups are often policy

.

A. specialists

B. generalists

C. regulators

D. implementors


LO 11.1


LO 11.2 Summary


• The theory of pluralism asserts that the

policymaking process is very open to the

participation of all interest groups, with no

single group usually dominating.

• Pluralists tend to believe that as a result the

public interest generally prevails.



LO 11.2 Summary


(cont.)

• Elitism contends that an upper-class elite holds

the power and makes policy, regardless of the

formal governmental organization.

• Hyperpluralism – So many groups are so

strong, that government is weakened and its

ability to make effective policy is crippled.



Which of the following is NOT an element

of the pluralist group theory of politics?

A. Groups provide a crucial link between people and government.

B. Groups usually follow the rules of the game.

C. Groups compete with each other.

D. Groups become too dominant.

LO 11.2



Which of the following is NOT an element

of the pluralist group theory of politics?

A. Groups provide a crucial link between people and government.

B. Groups usually follow the rules of the game.

C. Groups compete with each other.

D. Groups become too dominant.


LO 11.2


LO 11.3 Summary

• What Makes an Interest Group

Successful

• Groups that have large numbers of potential

members are usually less effective than groups

that have a smaller potential membership,

because it is easier to mobilize members of a

smaller group, who have more incentive to

participate.



LO 11.3 Summary

• What Makes an Interest Group

Successful (cont.)

• Both large and small groups can benefit from

the intensity of their members’ beliefs.

• Money always helps lubricate the wheels of

power, though it is hardly a surefire guarantee

of success.



The more a group has,

the more successful it tends to be.

A. intensity

B. financial resources

C. potential members

D. all of the above

LO 11.3



The more a group has,

the more successful it tends to be.

A. intensity

B. financial resources

C. potential members

D. all of the above


LO 11.3


LO 11.4 Summary


• Lobbying is one group strategy and lobbyists

are most effective with those legislators

already sympathetic to their side.

• Electioneering becomes critical because it

helps put supportive people in office.



LO 11.4 Summary

• How Groups Try to Shape Policy (cont.)

• Groups operate in the judicial as well as the

legislative process, using litigation in the courts

when lobbying fails or is not enough.

• Many groups project a good image, employing

public relations techniques to present

themselves in the most favorable light.



Which of the following is NOT a tactic

interest groups use?

A. Lobbying to influence policy.

B. Forming political action committees to influence elections.

C. Fielding candidates for office in general elections.

D. Litigating to influence policy through the courts.

LO 11.4



Which of the following is NOT a tactic

interest groups use?

A. Lobbying to influence policy.

B. Forming political action committees to influence elections.

C. Fielding candidates for office in general elections.

D. Litigating to influence policy through the courts.


LO 11.4


LO 11.5 Summary


• Economic interest groups involve business and

labor, with business focusing on governmental

regulations and subsidies and labor focusing

on policies to ensure good working conditions

and wages.

• Environmental interests are global warming,

pollution, wilderness protection, and

endangered species.



LO 11.5 Summary

• Types of Interest Groups (cont.)

• Equality interest groups promote the fair

treatment of groups that have been

discriminated against in the past, such as

African Americans and women.

• Public interest lobbies pursue policy objectives

that they believe will benefit all citizens, such

as consumer protection laws.



Which of the following type of interest

group tends to push for a collective good?

A. Consumer groups

B. Environmental groups

C. Equality groups

D. All of the above

LO 11.5



Which of the following type of interest

group tends to push for a collective good?

A. Consumer groups

B. Environmental groups

C. Equality groups

D. All of the above


LO 11.5


LO 11.6 Summary


• The issue of controlling interest groups

remains as crucial to democracy today as it

was in James Madison’s time.

• Some scholars (Pluralist Theory) believe that

the growth of interest groups has worked to

divide political influence, just as Madison

hoped it would.



LO 11.6 Summary

• Understanding Interest Groups (cont.)

• Critics of the Pluralist Theory (Elite Theory and

Hyperpluralist Theory) focus on the political

action committee (PAC) system as the new

way in which special interests corrupt

American democracy, or on the problem of too

many groups having too much power to block

policy change.



Which theory of interest group politics

best correlates with Madison’s ideas for

controlling interest groups?

A. Hyperpluralist Theory

B. Elite Theory

C. Pluralist Theory

D. Class Theory

LO 11.6



Which theory of interest group politics

best correlates with Madison’s ideas for

controlling interest groups?

A. Hyperpluralist Theory

B. Elite Theory

C. Pluralist Theory

D. Class Theory


LO 11.6


Text Credits

• Quote from Americans Against Food Taxes ad used with

permission.

• “The Power 25” from Fortune, May 28, 2001, Time Inc. All rights

reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws

of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or

retransmission of the Material without express written permission is

prohibited.

• Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2010, Table 650,

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010/tables/10s0650.pdf.

Federal Election Commission.


Photo Credits

• 304: Getty

• 305T: AP Photo

• 305TC: Jeffrey Markowitz/Corbis

• 305TB: Getty Images

• 305B: AP Photo

• 309: Jim Bourgman. Reprinted with special permission of King Feature Syndicate

• 317: AP Photo

• 318: Tribune Media Services. All Rights reserved. Reprinted with permission

• 320: Jeffrey Markowitz/Corbis

• 322: Getty Images

• 324: Getty Images

• 325: AP Photo

• 326 Carlo Aligen/Getty Images

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. …...Types of Interest Groups LO 11.5: Identify the various types of interest groups and their policy concerns. •Economic Interests •Environmental

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