Chapter 11 - Interest Groups Flashcards
A theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies
Pluralist theory
An organization of people with shared policy goals entering the policy process at several points to try to achieve those goals
Interest groups
A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization
Elite theory
A theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened
Hyperpluralist theory
A network of groups within the American political system that exercise a great deal of control over specific policy areas
Subgovernments
All the people who might be interest group members because they share some common interest
Potential group
That part of the potential group consisting of members who actually join
Actual group
Something of value (money, a tax write-off, prestige, clean air…) that cannot be withheld from a group member
Collective good
When people do not join because they can benefit from the group’s activities without officially joining
Free-rider problem
A principle stating that “the larger the group, the further it will fall short of providing an optimal amount of a collective good”
Olson’s law of large groups
Groups that have narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics
Single-issue groups
According to Lester Milbrath, a “communication, by someone other than a citizen acting on his own behalf, directed to a governmental decision maker with the hope of influencing his decision”
Lobbying
Direct group involvement in the electoral process. Groups can help fund campaigns, provide testimony, and get members to work for candidates, and some form PACs
Electioneering
Political funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms.
PACs
Legal briefs submitted by a “friend of the court” for the purpose of raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties. They attempt to influence a court’s decision
Amicus curiae briefs
Lawsuits permitting a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated
Class action suits
A provision found in some collective bargaining agreements requiring all employees of a business to join the union within a short period, usually 30 days, and to remain members as a condition of employment
Union shop
A state law forbidding requirements that workers must join a union to hold their jobs
Right-to-work law
According to Jeffrey Berry, organizations that seek “a collective good, the achievement of which will not selectively and materially benefit the membership or activities of the organization.”
Public interest lobbies
Goods (such as information publications, travel discounts, and group insurance rates) that a group can restrict to those who pay their annual dues
Selective benefits
