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8.8: Group Politics

  • Page ID
    287387
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    Politics has been a competition between groups since long before the advent of modern democracy. Democratic institutions have changed how groups operate, but the basic recipe for political influence is the same as ever: find enough people who share your interests and work together to pursue those interests.

    Yet size is not destiny. Small groups can beat larger groups if they are sufficiently motivated and organized. Nor is pluralism, strictly speaking, a “fair fight.” Some groups consist of members with certain advantages (of which disposable income is just one) that make them easier to marshal effectively. The inertia of the American political machine creates yet another imbalance: it is much harder to generate momentum for change than it is to simply defend the status quo.

    Like many inventors proud of their creations, Madison may have been a bit too optimistic in his sales pitch for the Constitution’s ability to temper the mischiefs of faction. The American political machine has many commendable features, but it remains subject to the mathematics of group politics. Outcomes will not always be majoritarian, and the diversity of the United States means that not everyone will get the policies they want all the time. That’s the thing about competitions, group-based or otherwise: they produce both winners and losers.


    8.8: Group Politics is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.