US pressure groups

pluralism

the founding fathers did not talk about pressure groups
they weren't contacted by powerful firms
talked a lot about factions in the society they were trying to organise and govern
Madison thought factions were a threat to a stable and secure democracy, but were also sown in the nature of man
Madison worried that groups would be more likely to oppress than liberate
believed that the aim of all right-thinking people should be to cure the mischiefs of faction

the theoretical basis of pressure group activity is pluralism
a theory that political power does not rest simply with the electorate or the governing elite, but is distributed among groups representing widely different interests
has been written about and debated by a host of eminent political philosophers through the years
David Truman, The Governmental Process, 1951- politics can be understood only by studying the way different groups interacted with one another
Robert Dahl, Who Governs?, 1960s
C. Wright Mill, The Power Elite, 1956

Mills argued that the US was ruled by a small governing elite and that ordinary Americans had little real control over how they were governed or who governed them
Dahl claimed that US society was based on pluralism
in political party nominations, urban redevelopment and public education, widely differing groups of ordinary Americans were active and influential
democracy is a process in which there is a high probability that an active and legitimate group in the population can make itself heard effectively at some crucial stage in the process of making decisions
democracy is all about compromise between competing groups

types of pressure group

pressure groups seek to influence those who have control of government
vary considerably in size, wealth and influence
in the US they operate at all levels of government and seek to bring their influence to bear on all three branches of government
there are numerous typologies of pressure groups

sectional groups

seek to represent their own section or group within society
business and trade groups- the American Business Conference, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Automobile Dealers Association
the US Chamber of Commerce represents thousands of different businesses across the nation
the labour unions represent a particular trade- the United Auto Workers, the Teamsters (truck drivers)

The American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organisations is the US equivalent to the UK TUC
sectional groups representing the interests of America's agriculture- American Farm Bureau Federation, National Farmer's Union, Associated Milk Producers Incorporated

americans might join a group that represents individuals with a common gender, ethnic, religious or social characteristic
National Organisation for Women
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
the Christian Coalition of America
American Association of Retired Persons
professional group- pressure group organised to promote the interest of a profession or business
American Medical Association, National Education Association, American Bar Association
intergovernmental pressure groups lobby one level of government on behalf of another- National Governors' Conference

causal groups

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