The Importance of Interest Groups in the Law-Making Process

The Importance of Interest Groups in the Law-Making Process

Interest Groups are an important part of the law-making process in many countries. Ideally, they are highly organized groups, composed of citizens that lobby in different ways for a cause. There are literally thousands of different groups in the United States, each putting forth much time and effort for their supporters. This paper will discuss the different types of interest groups, as well as how and why they exist. Without these important groups, many benefits that people have, such as healthcare, wage raises, education, ect, are a direct result of political interest groups.

The first type of interest group is called an anomic group. These individual groups have almost no organization and put little effort into their coordination. They tend to evolve in times of political unrest, war, and elections. These groups, including lynch mobs and student and urban rioters, are often violent and short-lived, although very productive in their efforts.

Another type of interest group is referred to as nonassociational groups. They are the opposite of what many people think of as an interest group. For example, a member of a village community may seek the advice of one of the wiser, elder members of the community. This is why these types of groups exist more in underdeveloped countries rather than in the United States. An example from the United States would be a government issued opinion poll, in which our legislators will make decisions based on popular opinion. Even though these are not organized groups, they are still considered representative because they are randomly selected.

The third type is an institutional group. This type of group is based ...

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...lly, one country will adopt one or the other of these abstractions, rarely both. Although neocorporatisim seems like the best option, it is very difficult to achieve successfully, because it depends on the "cooperative spirit" between the groups and their government.

Each interest group holds an important and specific purpose in government. Their activities can range from active rioting to sit-down negotiations and can be very complex in their organization. At one point or another, most people will be involved in some sort of interest group. This may be in the form of a donation to an environmental organization, joining a workforce union, or lobbying outside the congressional session. In a streaming web of politics and ethics, laws are created. Interest groups functions as the vehicle in which the government is alerted to the general populations' concerns.