Examining the Ways a Pressure Group Contributes to Representative Democracy
In a representative democracy, citizens elect representatives to make
decisions for them. In doing this, citizens hand over the
responsibility for making decisions to someone else. In Britian
voters elect members of parliament’s (MPs) to represent them every
four to five years and this makes the representatives in some way
accountable to the electorate. However many are unsatisfied with their
representation and join pressure groups to make their views heard. The
question is, is this good or bad for our democracy?
Pluralism is the way in which the electorate joins groups to have an
effect on government. Many pro-pluralists believe pluralism exists to
stop the perceived failures of a representative democracy. They think
pluralism contributes to representative democracy because people are
denied influence between elections. Furthermore they add that
manifesto promises are usually broken, with no repercussions on the
government. Pressure groups like Greenpeace, put pressure on the
government to not do this.
Another good reason for pressure groups is people are denied influence
between elections and even in elections a single vote doesn’t have
much of an affect on the outcome. In addition to this the one vote
doesn’t’t represent the variation in intensity with which views are
held for whether or not this is a pro-pluralist or anti-pluralist
factor is subject to opinion. However one thing is for sure, four to
five years is a long time for the electorate to not have a say in
their government. New issues come up and popular opinion changes,
having pressure...
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... are just a tool used by the elite
distract the population from seriously challenging them politically.
They say the elite (the government) make the population believes that
they can make a difference using pressure groups when this is not the
case. They point out that pressure groups only normally succeed when
government policy is in their favour and that the government only does
what it wants to and doesn’t take a balanced view point.
To conclude I think that pressure groups play an important part in our
representative democracy. There allow people to participate between
elections, and they allow minority voices to be heard. However
pressure groups shouldn’t be the be all and end all as certain parts
of them detract from a representative democracy. For instance there an
elected and the government houses and agenda.
How must these concerns be addressed? Many turn to compulsory voting for answers, believing in its necessity and insisting on the need for compulsion in order to increase the low turnout percentage. In fact, legislation such as Bill S-22 has received introduction into parliament in the past. Though failing to achieve approval when proposed in the 1st Session of the 38th Parliament, which ended in November of 2005 ("Bill S-22 (Historical)"), it strove to “make it compulsory for an elector to exercise the right to vote,” “make it an offence for an elector not to vote,” and “add the words ‘None of the candidates’ to a ballot in order to allow an elector to indicate that the elector does not wish to vote for any of the candidates nominated in his or her electoral district” ("Bill S-22, Summary").
The pharmaceutical industry has a high stake in the passage of laws and they protect their interests by maintaining a substantial presence of lobbyists. In 2010, there were approximately 3,000 health care lobbyists in Washington (Attkisson). Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) is a trade group that represents 48 pharmaceutical companies and is one of the largest lobbying groups in Washington. They currently represent some of the largest pharmaceutical companies including Bayer HealthCare LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., and Pfizer (PhRMA).
Adding this all up, I have concluded that the United States democracy is unhealthy, yet I still believe there is hope. If I had to give the current condition of democracy a letter grade, I would give it a C. I got this grade because even though the United States maintains many civil right and liberties, a strong number of interest groups, and diverse political parties, it just isn’t enough to carry the poor conditions of ideologies, voter turnout, education, economics, and media. Democracy is surly not thriving in America, but at this point, there is still hope.
After our discussion Rick formed a meeting to begin organizing a lobby group. They created an agenda which included an invite of social service agencies to the meeting to discuss suggestions from them on how to develop a lobby group. They prepared a mission statement believing it will unite the group, as well as provide focus and draw attention to the lobby group. In this meeting the five set up an outline that involved organizing the group to address the needs of people with disabilities and how the inequality and stigma they face creates social barriers. They chose to focus on the challenges that Rick and the initial six members were experiencing which are lack funding by the government in the way of inadequate assistance for housing, personal finances and jobs. In this meeting they decided to recruit members through the local paper, the recreation center and door to door canvassing. One of the members suggested using social media and the United Way offered to help by placing a thread on their web page. The six members share their personal stories via a video on the website. The website would be filled with current information about the effects on society when there is lack of adequate resources in a city and have a discussion forum and sign up tab. They decided to take advantage of the fact an election was imminent in the next 12 months by preparing to lobby the elected representatives in their district.
Pressure Groups have become increasingly important in liberal democracies in influencing and raising awareness of their group’s particular causes or interest. This essay will assess wither or not pressure groups are more powerful than the government in Britain. To fully understand if pressure groups are more powerful than the British Government we much take into account the varying classifications of pressure groups, define what is meant by power, the different way pressure groups influence public option, the arguments for and against pressures being more powerful than the British Government and also the power government holds which pressure groups do not. The main argument of this essay is that although pressure groups do have some influence and power in today’s society but they are still not as powerful as the British Government.
Public policy is the course of actions taken by the government that includes laws, plans, actions and the behavior of the government. The most effective way to influence public policy would be to lobby for the interest group that supports the problem that needs to be addressed by society and the government. Interest groups are organizations of people with shared goals to influence specific public policies, such as the National Rifle Association wanting to protect gun rights. The representatives for these particular interest groups are called lobbyists, whom are registered to inform the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate of the issue or laws being addressed, what agencies/branches of the government are being contacted, and the amount of money being spent on these issues. They can also represent private individuals or the general public. The word itself implies that lobbyists are the ones who directly contact the lawmakers of congress or other government officials, while making indirect contact through raising awareness in their communities for action. In order to make change, lobbying would be most effective because they are honest and assist the government with legislations other than their own, they work hard with the community and politicians, and most importantly they are the most knowledgeable and experienced on issues and politics so that the best decisions are able to be made.
The Human Rights Campaign is the largest gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender advocacy group in the nation. With over 400,000 members, the group is able to lobby very effectively in Washington and has an impressive legislative record. The HRC began in 1980 as a fund to raise money for gay-supportive congressional candidates. It was meant to be a response to the successful right-wing groups at the time, including the National Conservative Political Action Committee and Moral Majority. By 1984, the Human Rights Campaign Fund was effectively supporting congressional candidates, raising over 475,000 dollars. By 1990, the HRC had a membership of 25 thousand, and was organizing marches in the capitol. Between 1990 and the present, the Campaign grew to it’s current size nearing half of a million members, and the group’s PAC contributed over 5 million dollars to lobbying efforts. These efforts focus on four issues: First, it lobbies to increase efforts to fight HIV/AIDS. Secondly, the HRC aims to use federal legislation and workplace advocacy to combat discrimination in the workplace. Third, an effort is made to pass legislation against anti-gay hate crimes. Lastly, the Campaign works to pass legislation addressing lesbian health issues.
nothing but making citizens' voices, opinions, and perspectives “present” in the public policy making processes (11). When political representatives not only speak but also advocate and champion the cause of the people, both symbolize and act on behalf of the vast majority of people in the political arena, political representation then occurs. In essence, political representation refers to kind of political assistance that the political representatives give to the people at large. This seemingly straightforward definition, however, is squarely not sufficient and inadequate because it leaves the concept of political representation underspecified and does not convey the full meaning of the term. The concept of political representation carries
Pressure Groups Being Good for Democracy Pressure groups are organisations whose members share common interests and seek to influence governments. They can be classified in several different ways but the most important distinction is between insider and outsider groups. They are organisations that want to change policy but do not want to become the government. They focus on particular issues or areas of concern and can become involved in policy making by organising campaigns, sending letters, organising demonstrations and signing petitions. People join pressure groups to show their support for a particular issue and to join with other like-minded people in trying to influence our politicians.
Political apathy and the fact that less and less people, especially young people, vote affects the country and its state of democracy greatly. When more people do not believe that their right to vote can actually achieve something and make a difference the voter outcome will decrease. The united states pride itself on the fact that all citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote and change what they do not like about our government. The people of the united states were given the right to vote because the founding fathers did not want the people of the united states to be oppressed by one leader and gave the people the right to change the government by electing someone new. The whole idea of the united states being a “representative democracy”
a whole, must push for a change in the government election process to where the elites do
Pressure Groups and Their Influence on the Government Britain is often referred to as a homogenous society as the public. tend to share similar political views. However, more recently, there. has been a decline in membership to political parties and an increase. in the membership of pressure groups. In this essay I will define pressure groups, information surrounding such as the amount of power.
can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse out of the
In today’s world, democracy faces everyday challenges. These challenges affect each and every country. Each country has a particular way of encountering these challenges in order for the citizens to have some type of voice. The voice of the people makes a stronger impact on using democracy as a means to challenge the government of their country. As we take a look at the countries in the world today, we will see the path towards the challenges to democracy.