6.1: Scorned and Tolerated- The Role of Interest Groups in Democracy
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What is an interest group?
Interest groups play an important role in a democracy. James Madison envisioned the existence in the United States as a pluralist democracy, that is, “a form of democracy where governments make decisions as a consequence of the interaction between groups and organizations having different ideas and contrasting arguments.”4 In a pluralist democracy groups compete with each other to influence policy; no particular group is more influential than another. Madison, the primary drafter of the U.S. Constitution in 1787, defended such ideas while urging its ratification through essays he and others published in the Federalist Papers. Writing in Federalist 10, Madison discussed how “mischiefs of factions” (interest groups) would play a significant role in American politics.5 Not surprisingly, his political career included considerable involvement with interest groups, which indicates that he believed interest groups could have a beneficial effect on policy, but only when they supported policies that would promote the general good. However, he acknowledged the factious—potentially divisive—nature of some interest groups. These divisive groups promoted their own selfish interests. Madison predicted that such groups would remain strong and active, and of course, Madison was correct.6 Some of Madison’s sentiments were more recently been shared by political scientist Robert Dahl, who championed the theory of pluralistic democracy, contending that political outcomes are enacted through competitions and compromises between interest groups within the system of checks and balances.7
Most Texans have at least one political interest, and they might attempt to influence the government on their own. But they are most likely to influence the state government by joining a group that is specifically organized to accomplish an objective of a group of individuals with like interests. Joining an interest group is another form of political participation and an alternate channel to influence government. An interest group is an organization of individuals with shared goals that attempts to influence governmental decisions and public policy through a variety of activities. Interest groups provide a link between groups of people and the government. The linkage created by interest groups is protected both by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and a similar provision in the Texas Constitution, which both guarantee individuals and groups rights to freely associate and assemble and the right to petition government to redress grievances (e.g., the right to make a complaint to, or seek the assistance of, one's government, without fear of punishment or retaliation):
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.8
Thus, interest groups become the mechanisms through which people with shared goals protect and advance their own long term interests.
As you’ve already discovered in previous chapters, a political party is a group of people who organize to win elections, operate the government, and determine public policy. Unlike political parties, interest groups do not function primarily to elect candidates under a certain party label or to directly control the operation of the government. Most commonly, interest groups try to influence those who already hold positions of governmental power. A political party may blur its position on issues or may appeal to a much wider array of opinions on issues in order to draw in the greatest number of voters. Interest groups, on the other hand, are focused and take definitive positions on issues. In addition, political parties try to organize and group a majority of people together to create a governing power that works for that majority. An interest group only works on behalf of a specific group of people who share the same viewpoint. During elections, political parties spend significant time, energy, and money attempting to produce positive publicity about their candidates and develop mechanisms to distribute that information to their supporters and undecided voters. Shortly before elections, interest groups will canvass the views of candidates from each party on issues with which they are concerned and notify their members of which candidates’ views agree and disagree with the group’s positions.
Despite Madison’s defense of a pluralist democracy, both political parties and interest groups were often viewed with scorn by the drafters who contributed to of the U.S. Constitution. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats had been organized into a political party when the country elected George Washington as its first president, and in his farewell address, Washington warned against the creation of political parties altogether: “Domination of one faction [by which Washington meant political party] over another... is itself a frightful despotism.”9 Nevertheless, both parties and interest groups have now become part and parcel of political life, tolerated originally as possible limitations on the newly created strong federal government. The greatest concern, however, was that these two different groups would “promote their own partial or narrow interests over the common good.”10 Little did the drafters know that certainly concerning interest groups (and some might say political parties as well) this concern would become a reality.
Since the early twentieth century, political scientists have looked more kindly on political parties and interest groups, noting the capacity of interest groups and parties to establish crucial linkages between citizens and government. Interest groups are considered institutions that legitimately work within the system. As such, the key factors that encourage the development of, and strengthen, interest groups and their ability to shape policy outcomes should be explored. Texas is among the states where interest groups have a high potential for great influence.
4. Claude J. Burtenshaw, “The Political Theory of Pluralist Democracy,“ Western Political Quarterly, Dec. 1, 1968, https://doi.org/10.1177/106591296802100403.
5. James Madison, Federalist Papers No. 10, 1787, https://billofrightsinstitute.org/pr...deralist-no-10.
6. James Yoho, Madison on the Beneficial Effects of Interest Groups: What Was Left Unsaid in "Federalist" 10 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press , 1995).
7. Curtis V. Smith. Elitism vs. Pluralism: Of Robert Dahl, the Working Middle Class Vote and the 2008 Presidential Election (2008).
8. U.S. Constitution, amend 1, §4., cl. 1, Freedom of Assembly and Petition: Overview, Constitution Annotated, https://constitution.congress.gov/br...f%20grievances.
9. George Washington, Farewell Address (The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy, Yale Law School: 2008), https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp.
10. Daniel J. Tichenor and Richard A. Harris, “The Development of Interest Group Politics in America: Beyond the Conceits of Modern Times,” Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 8, June 15, 2005, 251-270, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.poli....090803.161841.