Question

Some observers believe that interest groups in the United States are slowly eroding democracy—that is, that most groups are interested only in personal gain, not the national interest. Countries such as Japan and Germany have very few interest groups and are thus able to make decisions more quickly with a view toward the public interest. What are some arguments in favor of our pluralist (interest group–driven) type of government? On the other hand, what are some ways that interest groups impede democracy? Which system is more preferable: one with many groups or one with few?

Answer 1

Interest groups do help in the addition of a dialectic perspective in terms of policies that are formulated, and they also helps break the party formation that so often gets biased within a government due to a certain school of thought that is dogmatically followed.

Also, certain interest groups that specialize in certain domains and have certain expertise are better equipped with an understanding towards formulating rule and laws that involve them. For instance, having the expertise from various organizations in order to formulate a law for regulating behavior of companies would involve a panel of representatives from companies.

Although, interest groups can also have a dark side to them, which is the agenda that many interest groups harbor, they are called 'interest' groups for a reason. It can lead to tainted objectivity or false attributions that can lead to lobbying and propaganda for personal gains and ideals as opposed to for the collective good of the society.

In recent times, where most of the higher societal structures having been plagued by growthism and productism, interest groups have a high propensity of obstructing the democratic values within a given society for personal gains.