Question

The three mechanisms through which social groups/classes can attempt to influence or shape politics: interest groups, elections, and social movements. How well does each of these three mechanisms work?

Answer 1

Three mechanisms through which social groups influence to shape politics is

1)Interest Group

• An interest group, or a collection of people with the shared goal of influencing public policy, are different from political parties in that they do not run their own candidates for office, and they typically seek more specific policy goals than parties
• The largest type of interest group represents businesses or corporations; other types of interest groups include those that represent occupations, labor unions, and those that represent social groups or ideological perspectives (called public interest groups).
• There are multiple reasons why there are such a large number of interest groups in the United States, especially since the mid twentieth century, and why many have become more active in elections:

1. As the government has expanded on all levels and has taken on more responsibilities, it has created further incentive for the entities and the people it is now responsible for to organize and advocate for themselves.
2. Interest groups have improved their strategies for organizational maintenance, such as maintaining links with the public like direct mail-fundraising, e-mail lists and Web sites.
3. Prominent and successful social movements have provided models off of which interest groups can base their own actions.
4. The realities of federal tax and campaign finance laws encourage organizations to create separate affiliated groups for distinct purposes.

In this way interest group shape politics

2)election

An election is a formal group decision-makingprocess by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office.Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local government. This process is also used in many other private and businessorganizations, from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations.

The universal use of elections as a tool for selecting representatives in modern representative democracies is in contrast with the practice in the democratic archetype, ancient Athens, where the Elections were considered an oligarchic institution and most political offices were filled using sortition, also known as allotment, by which officeholders were chosen by lot

Electoral reform describes the process of introducing fair electoral systems where they are not in place, or improving the fairness or effectiveness of existing systems.

Election Factor that influence politics

• Family

Despite family disagreements and generation gaps, children tend to grow up and vote the way their parents do. Families are generally the first, and often the most enduring, influence on young people's developing political opinions. As people grow older, other influences crisscross the family, and naturally their attitudes tend to diverge from those of their parents. However, the influence still remains. Logically, the more politically active your family, the more likely you are to hold the same beliefs. Just look at the Bush family

• Religion

Religious beliefs often sway the way people vote. The Christian Coalition is a group that has over two million members and represents the view that "people of faith have a right and a responsibility to be involved in the world around them."

Election is also one of the most important mechanism to shape politics..

3)social movement

A social movement is a type of group action. Social movements can be defined as "organizational structures and strategies that may empower oppressed populations to mount effective challenges and resist the more powerful and advantaged elites. They are large, sometimes informal, groupings of individuals or organizations which focus on specific political or social issues.

• Social movement reflect the notion that social movements are intrinsically related to social change. They do not encompass the activities of people as members of stable social groups with established, unquestioned structures, norms, and values. The behaviour of members of social movements does not reflect the assumption that the social order will continue essentially as it is. It reflects, instead, the faith that people collectively can bring about or prevent social change if they will dedicate themselves to the pursuit of a goal. Uncommitted observers may regard these goals as illusions, but to the members they are hopes that are quite capable of realization.

Interest group, election and social movement these are 3 mechanics that shape politics