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Irrationality of joining a group
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A. Single person will probably not make much of a difference
B. Person will probably receive benefits from the group anyway, e.g., an elderly person joining AARP will benefit from the groups lobbying efforts whether they join or not  ” free rider ” problem  need for groups to offer incentives for people to join
Types of Incentives :
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A. Material benefits , e.g., newsletters, t-shirts, mugs, magazine
B. Purposive benefits , i.e., satisfaction that person has done good thing in joining
C. Solidary benefits, i.e., social benefits of belonging to group

1.Traditional
: Goal to promote economic interests of its members
Types: agricultural (Amer. Farm Bureau), labor (AFL-CIO), business
(Chamber of Commerce), professional (NEA))
2.Nontraditional
: goal to promote status of its members and to influence gov ’ t actions (NAACP / NOW)
3. Single issue: goal to promote action on one overriding issue (MADD,
NRA, PETA)- groups are polarizing
4. Public Interest: goal to bring about good policy for society as a whole
( Common Cause -campaign finance reform, League of Women
Voters - encourages people to be informed and vote)

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Ideological : goal to convince gov ’ t to implement policies that are consistent with their philosophies
(ACLU, Christian Coalition, People for the American
Way, “ think tanks ” such as Heritage Foundation or
Brookings Institute)
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Governmental , e.g., National Association of
Governors

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Interest Groups – groups w/ common interest seeking to influence gov ’ t
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Madison ’ s Dilemma : wanting both liberty/order: allowing people to form groups and express views could destroy orderly society ( Political Factions were inevitable---need to control effects. Geographically large republic is more likely to cure
“ mischief of factions.
” )
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Pluralism : growth of interest groups prevents concentration of excessive power in hands of a few, and thus enhances democracy---rebuttal that groups do not have equal resources and equal access

 Tocqueville ’ s description of American propensity for joining groups
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Diversity of population  countless social, racial,economic and geographic differences
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Diffusion of Power in gov ’ t.
Political power share by many –more places in which groups can argue case leads to more groups
 Weakness of political parties: when parties are unable to get things done, interest groups have filled the power vaccum (Super
Pac ’s today)
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When interest groups form, there will be another group to counter it (Planned Parenthood v. National Right to Life)

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Size
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More members=more money, more votes (ie. AARP)
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More members means greater diversity among members, less focus
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Spread , ie., degree to which membership is concentrated or dispersed
 Cohesiveness : degree to which members are committed to “ the cause ” , e.g., members who join solely for getting a good deal on life insurance would be less committed then members who joined b/c they deeply believe in “ the cause.
”
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Leadership
 Resources , e.g., money, expertise, reputation, connections

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Use of Mass Media (GOING PUBLIC)
Boycotting , e.g., NOW ’ s boycott of states that failed to ratify ERA, civil rights groups boycotting S. Carolina for flying Confederate flag at state capital
LITIGATION
Use of “ amicus curiae briefs ” , e.g., disabled groups filing on behalf of
PGA golfer Casey Martin, NAACP filing on behalf of minorities
Campaign Contributions (ELECTIONEERING)
Endorsement of Candidates
Targeting of “ unfriendly candidates ” (NCPAC in ‘ 80, moveon.org in
‘ 04)
Issuing of report cards to rate candidates
Initiative, referendum, and recall at state and local levels
LOBBYING
Mass Mailings - new techniques of targeting specific segments of pop.