To What Extent Are Pressure Groups Good for Democracy

Pressure groups are formal (Insider) and informal (Outsider) associations whose goals are to further the interests of a specific section of the society to promote a particular cause by influencing the decisions of the government. An insider group is a pressure group which is very involved in the decision making of policies e.g. Cancer Research UK. An outsider group is a pressure who is not associated with decision making as they like to assert their independence and lack political clout e.g. Greenpeace. However there are some outsider groups that want to be affiliated and become an insider, but they have not yet been asked by the government e.g. Association of British Drivers. These groups are also known as “Aspiring Insiders”. These pressure groups are organisations that have the same interest as anyone. However there are groups that focus on a section of society e.g. Trade Unions are for teachers etc. They can also be classified as Interest Groups. These types of pressure groups display both democratic and undemocratic features which are both good and bad for the democratic process.
Pressure groups are very informative. They are good at educating people and raising awareness of the general public. They offer independent information to the public and they are very important in furthering our knowledge so we are able to make more sound, rather than rash decisions. However they may not be completely accurate but we gather enough information from different sources we can come to a judgement which reasonable or sensible. This is very good for democracy as they are informative and good at educating others such as Action on Smoking and Heath (ASH) keeps the general public aware about the dangers of smoking so they can think twice if they are ever influenced or motivated to smoke and to help others to quit smoking. This shows that are have a great interest of the public to support them and to keep them away from ignorance. This is very good because I believe they are