Pros And Cons Of Interest Groups

Interest groups are “…group[s], however loosely or tightly organized, that is determined to encourage or prevent changes in public policy without trying to be elected.” “American society is pluralistic, consisting of many different interest groups that compete for and share in political power.” In many ways, interest groups help I stimulating people’s interest in political affairs.
Political parties and news organizations are interest groups but they are a different kind of interest groups. These are more open and more inclusive and generally hold more accountability to the public. Reform groups argue that interest groups corrupt the system by buying votes. Reform groups are a type of interest group, although they paint a bleak picture
There are several types of interest groups since the time they were created. Economic interest groups are where you find the chamber of commerce, the building industry, unions, trade associations, and agriculture groups. All together, economic interest groups “…incudes groups representing business, labor, professional and agricultural interests.” Noneconomic interest groups “…fight for issues or causes instead of working for material gain.” All taxpayers benefit from noneconomic interest groups without paying the interest group. Publically, the media will show negativity towards interest groups but privately, the media is a part of interest groups and they also depend on other interest groups for information. Voters are another population that perceives interest groups negatively because of what they hear from the media, even though all voters belong to an interest group, whether it is a work union or car insurance interest groups. There are some people that do not pay for interest group services but still uses their services called free riders. On the other hand, lobbyists think that interest groups are highly professional policy experts. They believe that interest groups protect public interests and prevent public