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Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas.
CHAPTER 9
Interest Groups: Organizing for Influence
E. E. Schattschneider
The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong
upper-class bias.
The Interest Group System
The interest-group system includes all interests that are organized and seek political goals
Interest group = a faction Typical Interest group functions
Supporting candidates for public office Working to influence legislators and
policymakers Promoting public policies
The difference between political parties and the typical interest group- the party addresses a broad range of issues
The Interest Group System
James Madison- the source of most interest
groups or factions is the unequal distribution of property
Worried that gov. would be dominated by groups but recognized that a free society must allow the advocacy of self-interest- Federalist no. 10
The Interest Group System
Reasons for so many groups: American tradition of free association the wide diversity of interests that exist in
America America’s federal system- multiple gov. entities
The Interest Group System
Alexis de Tocqueville describes America as “a nation of joiners”
Citizens of the U.S. are more actively involved in interest groups and community causes than other nations
Interest group activity is basic to democracy because it promotes the concern of various interests in society
The Interest Group System
Economic Groups The organizational edge: economic groups versus citizens’
groups Private (Individual) goods vs. collective (public) goods
Private- Material Incentive i.e. higher wages, lower taxes, subsidies Public- clean air & water, protection of individual rights
The free rider problem- non-members get these benefits for free The size factor: business groups smaller and more efficient
The Interest Group System
Economic Groups Types of Economic
Groups Business Groups
the most fully organized
Labor Groups Agricultural Groups Professional Groups
The Interest Group System Citizens’ Groups
Purposive Incentives The satisfaction of contributing to a worthy goal or purpose
Collective (Public) Goods cannot be selectively denied to individuals The air we breathe = collective good
The Free-Rider Problem individuals get the benefit without belonging to the group to overcome this groups have created benefits for members
The Interest Group System
Citizens’ Groups Types of Citizens’ Groups
Public-Interest Groups- NAACP Single-Issue Groups- NRA Ideological Groups- MoveOn
concerned with a wide number of issues
The Interest Group System
A Special Category of Interest Group: Governments States, cities, and other governmental units
in the U.S. lobby heavily Foreign governments are prohibited from
certain lobbying activities Pressure through their embassies with paid
lobbyists in Washington
Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Official Contacts
Acquiring Access to Officials Policy support- Based on providing useful and
persuasive information to key officials Campaign Contributions- Money is key element—
amount contributed is staggering K Street- 20,000+ lobbyists in DC
Regulated by: Lobbying Disclosure Act-1995 &Honest Leadership & Open
Government Act-2007 Requires lobbyists to register and file detailed reports
of activities “Revolving door” – Capitol Hill to K Street
Some top officials are former lobbyists
Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Official Contacts
Lobbying Congress Most significant resource that groups offer candidates
= $$$ Lobbying Executive Agencies
Targets include POTUS & presidential staff Top officials in executive agencies
“Agency capture”- over time the agencies tend to favor the industries they are supposed to regulate-
Lobbying the Courts Initiating lawsuits- i.e. ACLU Lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the
bench
Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Official Contacts
Webs of Influence: Groups in the Policy Process Iron Triangles
Small and informal but stable set of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists who are concerned with promoting a particular interest
Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Official Contacts
Webs of Influence: Groups in the Policy Process Issue Networks
Informal grouping of officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists who are brought together temporarily by their shared interest in a particular policy problem
Generally more frequent but less stable than iron triangles
Members of an issue network may change as the issue develops
Once the issue is settled, the network disolves
Outside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Public Pressure
Constituency Advocacy: Grassroots Lobbying Grass-roots lobbying = pressure from
constituents Members of the public try to get lawmakers’
attention AARP
largest citizen group- over 30 million Difficult to assess influence
Outside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Public Pressure
Electoral Action: Votes and PAC Money PACs
4000+ PACs funneling a group’s election
contributions contributions limited to $10,000
per candidate for each election Most PACs associated with
business Tend to contribute money to
incumbents 8x as much to incumbents
Amount of influence? Too much? vs. right to be heard Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
1st Amendment issue
Percentage of PACS by Category
The Group System: Indispensable but Biased
The Contribution of Groups to Self-Government: Pluralism Serving the “public interest”?
Flaws in Pluralism: Interest-Group Liberalism and Economic Bias The tendency of officials to support demands of the interest
groups Liberal- the habit of using government to promote group interests Neither party is “conservative” in the sense of being reluctant to
use gov. power to promote groups Not equally representative
Organization is an unequally distributed resource Economic groups are the most highly organized Nearly 2/3 of all lobbying groups are business related
The Group System: Indispensable but Biased
A Madisonian Dilemma Madison’s solution to the problem of factions
actually contributes to the problem by the fragmentation of authority among policymakers thereby providing more groups more opportunities to get their way Federalist #10- A free society must allow pursuit of
self-interest Checks and balances work to protect rights, but
also exaggerate influence of minorities Groups can wield too much influence over
individual policies or agencies