Collective Political Action
and Interest Groups
Dubbs Govt
Public Good
Something that benefits society and is created
by someone or a group
Depends on the scope
People benefit even if they didn’t do anything
to earn it
Non-excludable—can’t be left out
Indivisible—non-depletable, can’t be
consumed away; your consumption does not
change other people’s consumption
Public Good Examples
Lighthouses
National Defense
Clean air
Clean water
Clean food
Public Safety
Things that aren’t public
goods
PG’s cannot become private goods
Social security becomes a private good
The Logic of Collective Action
Everyone has interest in issues like food
safety, but hardly anyone is in the American
Dietetic Association OR the Center for
Food Safety
Yourselves included!!  what we call a
“free-rider”
Civil Rights are public goods
Small Groups
Large Groups
P
A
P
A
Small homogeneous groups will dominate more
than large heterogeneous groups (in general)
When people benefit from the
work of others…
Free-Rider
People who take advantage of public goods
without doing the work
Free-rider problem is much worse in a large
group because it’s easier to hide and benefit
Public goods are consequently
underproduced
Large Groups vs. Small Groups
No punishment for
free-riding
Absence is felt, cuts
down on free-riders
Not as much is
accomplished
Easier to organize
Harder to mobilize
as many people
9-11 Airline Bailout
Easy to organize,
took about a week
to get industry
back on track
Interest Group Behavior
IG’s defined by 3 criteria
1. Use collective resources to influence govt
outcomes
2. Group name does not appear on ballots
3. Groups organized externally to the govt itself
•
IG’s LOBBY—the action of trying to influence
lawmakers (comes from always talking to
legislators in the lobbies and halls of Congress)
Classifying IG’s
1. Corporations
•
Lobby directly on their behalf for the corp. alone. Most
big corps. have lobbyists in DC and have a law firm as
well
2. Citizen groups
•
MADD, Center for Food Safety
3. State/Local Govt
Organized externally to Natl. Govt.
Ex: Associations of governors
4. ReligiousCharitable
Classifying IG’s
5. Trade Associations
• By industry
• Professionals (teachers, lawyers, dentists,
doctors)
• Owners of the means of production, or could
potentially work for themselves
6. Labor Unions
• By labor types
• Workers, work for others
• NFLPA, Laborers, UAW, North American
Meat Processors Association
Direct vs. Indirect Lobbying
Strategies
Persuade government officials
Direct
Lobbying
Change the actual decision
makers (get their people elected)
Indirect
Indirect lobbying deals with campaigns and
elections. Direct influences current
government through persuasion. Indirect
changes the composition of govt.
Insideofficials Outsidepeople/voters.
Inside
Outside
Inside
Outside
GREAT IG’S DO
ALL OF THESE
Interest Groups
Pros
Help increase interest in
public issues
Promote shared interest of
their members
Provide useful, detailed,
specialized information to
govt officials and agencies
Provide a way for people
to join together to
influence govt
Act as “watchdogs” by
keeping tabs on what govt
officials and agencies do
Cons
Highly organized and
wealthy groups have an
advantage, even if they are
smaller than others
It can be hard to tell who or
how many people a group
really represents
Some groups don’t speak
and act for the views of most
of their members
Some groups use unethical
tactics
Money raised by PACs can
be seen as bribes to get
officials to do things that
hurt citizens
Writing to Learn
Answer the following questions in your notes:
What benefits do interest groups provide to society as a
whole?
Why is it difficult to decide if interest groups are
positive or negative influences overall?
Political Action Committees
IG’s set up PACs to raise money to influence public
policy and elections.
PACs have different goals, tools, and rules (set up by
the govt) that they must follow
Fed law limits amount an individual an give to a
candidate for federal office
Fed law bans corp’s and labors unions from donating
directly to candidates running for federal office.
However, a PAC can spend any amount of money to
support a person running for office.
More on PACs
PACs run their own ads in the media to influence
public opinion
Mass mailings to gather support
PACs are often tied to IG’s, the reason for this is to
separate IG’s from the mechanism of donating money
to political campaigns
An interest group is a group of people
who
A. Personally lobby citizens
B. Are concerned about a wide range of public issues
C. Are running for elective office
D. Share common goals and interests
What is the general purpose of a PAC?
A. To pay for and run a single candidate’s election campaign
B. To pay for the day-to-day operations of a political party
C. To collect money and spend it to influence public policy
D. To organize interest groups
PETA staged a protest outside Harbor Fish Market
today, objecting to treatment of lobsters. Crews from
area television stations videotaped what happened,
did interviews, and will report on the event on the
evening news.
What technique is PETA using in this case to influence public
opinion?
A. Using the media to draw attention to its cause
B. Meeting directly with policy makers
C. Hiring lobbyists
D. Using PACs
IG Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OHG7tHrNM
The Crying Indian
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/do-corporate-interestsrule-washington/
Do Corporate Interests Rule Washington?
Constructed Response
Read the information below and use it to answer the constructed
response that follows.
Some people think that interest groups have too much influence on
the U.S. government. Others say that interest groups are a
democratic and practical way to express people’s legitimate shared
interests.
How can interest groups help the U.S. political process and
U.S. society?
How can interest groups have a negative effect on the U.S.
political process and U.S. society?
Include details and examples to support your answers.