Interest groups Essay Example for Free

Interest groups Essay More than any other group special interest groups hold an enormous amount of sway in the American political system. What is interesting here is the fact that most of the public looks upon special interest groups with disdain. There are a number of reasons for this but before the reasons can be defined special interests must be defined. An interest group is an organized faction that seeks to sway political influence that is favorable to them. For example, many corporations pressure politicians to ease immigration laws because they earn enormous volumes of money by using labor that is generally inexpensive. When it comes to the effect that special interest groups have on democratic pluralism, the effect is generally negative. The reason for this is that special interest groups undermine the democratic process and this frustrates the public to a significant degree. Probably the most significant area that voters express frustration in is the notion that special interest groups are favored by politicians more than the popular will of the American people. That is, if a special interest group promotes an item or an agenda that is opposed by the vast majority of the America people, politicians will still give significant attention to the special interest groups and then will side with the special interest groups against the will of the people. This creates a significant amount of anger and discontent on the part of the voters because it leads to a situation where the representative form of government is no longer acting in a manner that would be deemed representative. In other words, the elected officials no longer promote the interests of the public, but rather promote the interests of front groups, elitists and corporatists. Sadly, this assessment – while somewhat oversimplified – is very close to accurate. One of the reasons that special interest groups have such influence is because an enormous amount of money is required to run a successful election and special interest groups bring with them a great deal of money. While this may seem like a cynical assessment of the current political landscape it is also an accurate one. It would be next to impossible for someone such as James Madison to support the current situation where special interest groups yield significant sway in the government arena. While Madison did understand that political factions were inevitable and also not inherently bad, his belief system (like most of the framers) was generally influenced by John Locke and Locke’s belief in the Social Contract. Within the framework of the Social Contract it is explicitly stated that the government is supposed to protect the inalienable rights of the individual. When the goals of special interests are placed above the needs and benefit of the American people, then the entire notion of the Social Contract is undermined. As such, it would be difficult to believe that Madison would support the current landscape of special interest groups that dominate American politics. Granted, while there is much discontent in the United States regarding special interest groups these groups will never go away. These groups are well funded and their money is welcomed by politicians. As such, interest groups will remain on the political landscape forever and ever. Literally. Bibliography Madison, J. , Hamilton, A. , and Jay, J. (Date Unknown)THE FEDERALIST PAPERS. Retrieved 4 September 2007 from http://patriotpost. us/fedpapers/fedpapers. html Scheikart, Larry. A PATRIOT’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. New York: Penguin, 2007. Zinn, Howard. A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. New York: Harper’s, 2007.