Interest Groups
Ch. 16
What is an interest group? What are some examples
of interest groups?
What is the difference between an interest group and
a political party?
Why does the formation of groups
matter?
 Enhances social capital
 relationships people have that help solve
community problems through group action
 Civic virtue
 Tendency to form small-scale groups for
public good
 Improved political/econ. development
 Give un(der)represented people opportunity to
have voices heard (more democratic)
 Offers powerful/wealthy greater access & influence
on policy makers at all levels
What is an interest group?
 Interest group—organized group that tries to
influence public policy
 Major difference between interest group and
political party is that interest groups DO NOT
run candidates for office
 David B. Truman: one of first political scientists to
study interest groups
 Pluralist theory—political power is distributed
among diverse & competing interest groups
 Disturbance theory—any time there is a
disturbance in the political system, an interest group
forms (groups counteract other groups)
 Transactions theory—public polices are the result
of narrowly defined exchanges among political forces
 Rejects pluralist approach: not rational to form a group;
groups that do represent elites
M. Olson: Logic of Collective Action
 Father of transactions theory
 Collective goods=no groups, since can gain
benefits of others (“free riders”)
 Population ecology theory—life of a
political organization is conditional on
diversity/density of interest group
population in an area
 People will create small groups if necessary
to prevent free riders (Civil Rights
Movement)
 “The flaw in pluralist heaven is that the
heavenly chorus sings with a strong upperclass bias.”
Kinds of Organized Interests
 Generally, interest
groups describe many
organized groups that
try to influence
government policy
 Public Interest
Groups—seeks a
collective good that will
not benefit group
members (Progressives)
 Economic Interest
Groups—promotes
financial interests of its
members (AMA, AFLCIO)
 Governmental Units—
state and local gov’ts
lobby for funding

earmarks—funds
specifically for program
within state or district
 Political Action
Committees—federally
regulated fund-raising
committee that represent
interest groups (1974);
no formal members
 Multi- and single-issue
groups
Development of American Interest
Groups
 National groups emerge (1830-1889)
 Communication networks enabled nationalization of
groups
 First were single-issue groups deeply rooted in the
Christian religious revivalism
 Temperance, Peace, Education, and Slavery
 Other groups emerged after the Civil War
 One of the most effective: Central Pacific Railroad
 Sent lobbyist to D.C. in 1861 (later in charge of
oversight of RR)
 Lobbyists
 Interest group representative who seeks to influence
legislation that will benefit his or her organization
through political persuasion
 The Progressive Era (1890-1920)
 Grew out of concern for impact of rapid
industrialization, influx of immigration, monopolistic
business practices, crime, poverty, poor working
conditions
 Organized Labor
 AFL (American Federation of Labor)
 Clayton Act: allowed unions to organize free from
prosecution and guaranteed their right to strike
 Business Groups and Trade Associations
 Trade Associations: a group that represents a
specific industry
 Unfair bribery tactics, gifts, contributions

NELA, NAM
The Rise of the Interest Group
State
 1960s and 1970s saw a
reappearance of the
Progressive spirit
 Civil Rights
 Women’s Rights
 Elderly
 Poor
 Consumers
 Environment
 Common Cause
(watchdog group)
 Ralph Nader’s Public
Citizen (investigatory
litigation center)
 Conservative Response:
Religious and Ideological
Groups
 Jerry Falwell and the
Moral Majority
 Pat Robertson, the
700 Club and the
Christian Coalition
 National Rifle
Association
Business Groups, Corporations, and
Associations
 Rise in business
advocacy groups
 More political than
Chamber of Commerce
 Example: The
Business Roundtable
 Created in 1972
 Urges member to
engage in direct
lobbying to influence
the course of public
policy
 Most large corporations
have them
 Own governmental
affairs department
 Employ D.C.-based
lobbyists to keep
them apprised of
legislation
 Gave substantial soft
money in the past
 Still use PACs, 527s,
and thus contribute a
great deal of money
Organized Labor
 Began to emerge as powerful player
early in the 20th century
 Could turn out members
 Focus not only on labor issues, but also
other issues of concern to its members
 More recently labor has lost some
clout
 Membership down
 “pale, male, stale”