Federalist 10 Madison defines faction as being opposed to the national - PowerPoint Presentation

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Federalist 10

Madison defines faction as being opposed to the national interestMajor cause unequal distribution of propertySecondary cause ,diversity of group opinions concerning religion, concerning government, and attachment to different leaders. Government must be designed to control and channel faction rather than prevent it.

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Factions controlled by a republican form of government. Framers of the Constitution suspicious of parties.

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eal with the problem of faction: Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment, without which it instantly expires.“Folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life because it nourishes faction, just as it would be silly to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency.”

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ejects the idea of a pure democracy (direct democracy-opinion of all) A republic Cover a greater expanse of territory than a pure democracy,Pure democracy requires a small community in which to function.All people are to be heardResult- corruption

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The larger the republic, m

ore faction will be diluted Factious leaders more isolated in the various compartments of government and the states. Difficult for faction to spread from state to nation.Antiparty, Anti-interest group

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THE ROLE OF INTEREST GROUPS

Turnout in elections down since 1960, participation in interest groups GROWN.Freedom to organize (the right “peaceably to assemble, and to petition” guaranteed by the First Amendment)

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nterest group-organization of people with similar policy goals that tries to influence the political process. Interest groups try to influence every branch and every level of government

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ultiplicity of policy arenas helps distinguish interest groups from political parties.Interest groups support candidates for office but do not run their own candidates. Interest groups do not face the constraint imposed by trying to appeal to everyone.Interest groups in other countries with multiparty systems form their own political parties to push for their demands.Interest groups

are policy specialists, whereas parties are policy generalists.

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INTEREST GROUP POLITICS

Does honest lobbying create problems?Pluralist theoryInterest group activity brings representation to allGroups compete and counterbalance one another.Influence is widely dispersed among them. No group wins or loses all the time.

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Groups compete,

interests make claims on one another.Group grows too powerful, opponents intensify their organization , restore balance to the system.No groups lie, cheat, steal, or engage in violence. Groups weak in one resource can use another. All groups are able to affect public policy.Groups - key link between people/government All interests in the political system get a hearing from governmentSome groups are stronger than othersL

obbying is open to all

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Elite theory

Few groups (mostly the wealthy) have most power.Government run by big interests Elitists point to interlocking and concentrated power centers. Oil/auto industry About one-third of top institutional positions occupied by people who hold more than one position. (university trustees, corporate boards)

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roups are unequal in power. Power of multinational corporations,Consumer interests are easily pushed aside.Honest lobbying a problemBenefits the few at the expense of the many.

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Hyperpluralist

theory-too many groups getting what they wantResult-Government policy contradictory , lacking direction.Theodore Lowi- interest group liberalism government’s excessive deference to groups.

Pressure group demands are legitimate/job of the government to advance them all. Appease every interestGovernment agencies proliferateRegulations expand, programs multiply, and the budget skyrockets.

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Interest group liberalism

promoted by network of sub-governments (iron triangles). Sub-governments composed of :Key interest groups interested in a policyThe government agency in charge of administering the policy,Members of congressional committees and subcommittees handling the policy. Relations between groups and the government - policy paralysis.

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Iron Triangle

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nterest group explosion weakening the power of sub-governments. Interest groups competing against one another Cozy relationship between groups and the government is more difficult to sustain.

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neffectiveness of large groups.Factors affecting success of interest groupSize of the groupIntensityFinancial resources. Small groups have organizational advantages over large groups.

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Small groups have organizational advantages over large group

Enrolling their potential membership.A collective good-something of value (such as clean air or a higher minimum wage) cannot be withheld from a potential group member. Members in potential group share in benefits that members of the actual group work to secure.Economist Mancur Olson — groups as opposed to individuals—are in the business of providing collective goods.

The free- rider-potential Members decide not to join, no work, still benefit

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lson’s law of large groups-bigger the group, more serious free-rider problem.Easier to organize small group with clear economic goals Member’s share of the collective good in small group great enough that he or she will try to secure it

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dvantage of small groups/public interest groups have a hard time financially. In contrast, the lobbying costs and benefits for business are concentrated. Large corporations also enjoy size advantage. Small potential groups (businesses) easier time organizing for political action than large potential groups, such as consumers.Large potential groups overcome

Olson’s law by providing selective benefits. Goods that a group can restrict to those who pay their yearly dues, such as information publications, travel discounts, and group insurance rates.

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Intensity.

Mobilized through an issue people feel intenselyAbortion most heated issueBoth small/ large groups have psychological advantage with intensity. Politicians listen A single-issue group—narrow interestDislikes compromiseSingle-mindedly pursues its goal—characteristically strong

emotions

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Financial resources.

Critics./PACs—Source of money expensive high-tech campaignDistort the governmental process in favor of those that raise the most money.Big interests do not always win, even on some of the most important issues.

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GROUP EXPLOSION

 Interest groups in the United States has been increasing Between 1959 and 2007, the number of groups 6,000 to 22,000. Reflects growing diversity in the interest group universe. Trade groups dominated in 1959Now group for every conceivable interest. All occupations now represented in Washington.

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HOW GROUPS TRY TO SHAPE

POLICY Three strategies of interest groups lobbying, electioneering, and litigation. Lobbyists are political persuaders who are the representatives of organized groups.Try to influence members of Congress, can also be of help to them.Source for specialized information.  Specialists while politicians are generalists Like campaigning, lobbying is directed primarily toward activating and reinforcing one’s supporters.

 

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Electioneering

Getting people into office/keeping them there, key strategy of interest groups. Aiding candidates financially and getting their members to support them. Political Action Committees(PACs) provide a means for groups to participate in electioneering PACs contribute most incumbents, and to the party of majority in Congress.

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Litigation.

Used if an interest group fails in Congress Environmental legislation, Clean Air Act, includes written provisions allowing citizens to sue for enforcement. Constant threat of a lawsuit -businesses will consider the environmental impact of actionsInterest group victory -civil rights groups in the

1950s.Victories in court cases school desegregation, equal housing, and labor market equality.Consumer groups used suits against businesses and federal agencies to enforce consumer regulations.

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Tactics and strategies.

Views of interest groups heard by the judiciary-filing of amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefsWritten arguments submitted to the courts in support of one side of a case.More direct judicial strategy-filing of class action lawsuitsEnables a group of similarly situated plaintiffs to combine similar grievances into a single suit.

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Going public.

Interest groups shape a good image-public relations techniques

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FOUR TYPES OF INTEREST

GROUPS1. Economic groups.Wages, prices, and profits.American economy, government does not directly determine these factors. Public policy in America has economic effects though regulations, tax advantages, subsidies and contracts, and international trade policy.Business, labor, and farmers all worry about government regulations.Every economic group wants to get its share of direct aid and government contracts.

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Labor.

Labor /more members than any other interest group except the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP). Union shop-equires new employees to join the union Business groups have supported right-to-work lawsOutlaw union membership as a condition of employment. Leads to low wages In 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, permitting states to adopt right-to-work laws.The American labor movement peaked

in 1956 33 percent of the non-agricultural work force belonged to a union; declined since then to 16 percent.

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Business.

Seventy percent of all interest groups in Washington represent business, Business PACs increased more than any other category of PACs. Large firms have offices in Washington/ monitor legislative activity.Business interests unified to promoting greater profits,

fragmented when policy choices have to be made. (roads or train tracks?) Two umbrella organizations—the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the Chamber of Commerce—include most corporations and business .Fight regulations that would reduce their profits. They seek preferential tax treatment/government subsidies and contracts.Foreign corporations and governments also lobby

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Environmental interests.

Environmentalists great deal of influence on Congress and state legislatures. Sierra Club and the Audubon Society—19th century,Most began first Earth Day in 1970Promoted pollution-control policies, wilderness protection, animal rights, and population control Oppose oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, strip mining, supersonic aircraft, and nuclear power plants.

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Equality

interests.Interest groups women and minorities -equal rights policy goal.Equality at polls, housing, job, education, and in all other dominant goal of African- American groups, -oldest National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Brown v. Board of Ed.

Slow resultsCivil rights groups -affirmative action programs to ensure that minority groups are given educational and employment opportunities. In recent years, the NAACP’s main vehicle-Fair Share program,Negotiates agreements with national and regional businesses to increase minority hiring and the use of minority contractors.

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The Nineteenth Amendment (1920) -

women the right to vote, but other guarantees of equal protection for women remained absent from the Constitution. (wages, opportunities etc.)National Organization for Women (NOW) have lobbied for an end to sexual discrimination.Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA was approved by Congress in 1972 but fell three states short of the 38 necessary for ratification. Phyllis Schlafly- STOP (Stop Taking our Privileges) ERA – would destroy families, communal restrooms, women in combatNOW enacting the protections that were proposed under ERA

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Consumers and public interest lobbies.

Public interest lobbies (representing groups or ideas “in the public interest”), seek a “collective good,” Consumer groups.Consumer movement-Ralph Nader, book Unsafe at Any Speed, which attacked the safety of General Motors’ Corvair. Sued General Motors for invasion of privacy after GM hired a private detective,Proceeds

from settlement launched first consumer group in Washington, D.C.1973 - Consumer Product Safety Commission-regulate all consumer products and to ban dangerous ones.Other public interest groups - cannot speak for themselves, such as children, animals, and the mentally ill