Question

Explain how interest groups operate in the US and state your opinion whether they complement or hinder the majority rule principle

Answer 1

An interest group is a group of individuals working together through an association, campaigning for common goals on behalf of others. Interest groups abound in the U.S. Over recent years several organizations have spoken out against government healthcare on behalf of both sides of the debate. The Patient Safety and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 also known as Obamacare was a significant reform of the U.S. healthcare system. Because of its possible effect, members of interest groups (lobbyists) from the insurance industry, hospitals, medical equipment suppliers and organizations representing physicians, patients and employers have all sought to control what the legislation looks like and how it would operate

An interest group is an association whose members share common interests, and seek to influence the policies of government that affect those interests.

Elected officials frequently talk about how "special interests" control American politics. Nonetheless, the truth is that advocacy groups work closely with members of Congress and the administration to draft legislation and policy proposals, provide information on a wide variety of topical topics to both the government and the public and make a substantial contribution to election campaigns.

U.S. political parties are typically much larger coalitions, comprising a large proportion of the population. The Democratic and Republican Parties expanded fairly small networks throughout the American two-party structure to seek to cover significant parts of the population. Political groups that support or oppose political candidates, but their goals are typically more broad and narrowly focused on areas such as taxation, the climate and gun rights or gun control, or their membership is limited to particular professions.

Good government needs competing interest groups because they not only provide citizens with the means to contribute to the democratic process, but also prevent any minority from enforcing their will on the majority. Therefore community groups are a critical component to a stable democracy. The interest group structure is really only useful for economic interest groups which have at their disposal greater financial resources. In Washington, almost two-thirds of the lobbyists represent economic classes.