Interest Groups

10 Pages 2485 Words

the scope of activities of the government in the 20th century, more and more interest groups find themselves drawn into politics to protect or promote the interests of their membership, and the distinction in usage between the terms interest group and pressure group has accordingly become less significant in ordinary language.

It is more difficult to distinguish interest groups rigidly from political parties. It is conventional to suggest that the difference between interest groups and political parties is that political parties see to constitute the government, whereas interest groups try only to influence it. In the United States, which is a two-party system, the interest groups are not always distinguished easily from political parties. Interest groups perform many of the same functions of political parties such as campaigning, providing political candidates with organization, funds, and publicity. However, often times links between the two are so close that the political party begins being called by the name of the interest group. In view of this, perhaps all that can be done to distinguish political parties from interest groups is to suggest that their ostensible purpose is always narrower than that of political parties.

Interest Groups are detrimental to the continuing success of a democratic nation.

Interest groups are an invaluable method for supplementing elections and political parties with more specialized concerns, which might otherwise be neglected. They allow strongly motivated minorities to overcome the will of the majority. It is seemingly impossible for candidates or parties to stay abreast of every issue that concerns their governing area. Interest groups bring to light those concerns and issues that affect many, most of which do not have the resources to voice their needs. They rely on a strong collaboration that has the knowledge and experience to organize funding and adequate staffing to get the ...