Question

Analyze the theory of pluralism. What are some of the assumptions of pluralism concerning the role of interests and factions in American politics? How did James Madison suggest factions be addressed? What are some contemporary criticisms of pluralism?

Answer 1

* Old pluralism is the view that politics and decision making are located mostly in the framework of government, but that many non-governmental groups use their resources to exert influence. The central question for classical pluralism is how power and influence are distributed in a political process.

Pluralism paints a pretty rosy picture of how interest groups work in American politics. It assumes a couple of key things, namely that groups provide a key link between people and government. Once interests are organized, groups can turn to the government and get a hearing.some pluralists believe that direct democracy is not only unworkable; it is not even necessarily desirable. Besides the logistical problems of having every citizen meet at one time to decide policies, political issues require continuous and expert attention, which the average citizen does not have.

*Assumptions are -

a) Groups are politically autonomous, or independent.

b) They have the right and freedom to do business in the political marketplace.

C) Pluralists judge society not by its actual equality but by its equality of political opportunity.

*Madison defines a faction as a number of citizens, whether it's a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by common passions or interests, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.

*Madison offers two ways to check majority factions: prevent the "existence of the same passion or interest in a majority at the same time" or render a majority faction unable to act. ... Madison states, "The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man", so the cure is to control their effects.

*The principal objection to the pluralist interpretation is that it overstates the opportunities to use political resources. Certainly all kinds of resources are potentially available, but some appear to be superior to others. Money, for instance, is a resource that can buy many others.

second criticism is that pluralism contains a contradiction. The system, it appears, functions best when ordinary citizens govern the least