Zusammenfassung der Ressource
(10) Do Pressure groups strength democracy
- Pressure groups do
strength democracy
- They communicate opinion to
politicians and policy makers
- Representative democracy
cannot itself ensure the state
act in the interest of society
- Interest and pressure groups,
alongside public opinion and the media,
help to check and balance government
- Groups allow some citizens
to speak to policy makers
- PG leader have polentially more direct
access to policy-makers to influence
and commincate public views
- Pressure groups
weaken democracy
- Promontinal groups "for
citizens, but are not of citizens"
- Groups minght encourage "ego-topic"
(this suits me) not build support for
"socio-tropic" (this benefits society)
- Public do not elect PG leaders were as
politicians are elected therefore there is a danger
they do not want to represent the whole of society
- Lack of choice in Pressure groups concerning specific
"issue" therefore less democratic because political
party offer choice on a large range of issue (national)
- Monitoring of government by groups
can have an impact on the ways in
which politics is constructed
- Such groups are often self-selecting
and in britain often lead toward the
liberal end of the spectrum