THE UNIVERSE OF INTEREST GROUPS

WHAT KINDS OF INTERESTS ARE THERE?

• TWO KINDS: Private Interest Groups and Public Interest Groups
  • Important distinction, even if lines get fuzzy

LOBBYING – any effort to influence a public official

PRIVATE INTEREST GROUPS

• Goal: To seek to protect or advance the interests of its members, rather than society as a whole.
  • Example: Business Interest Groups
    • They tend to have huge amount of power, lobbyists in Washington
      • Vast resources (The advantage of business interest groups comes in their huge amount of power based on resources; the fundamental goal is to make money; they use the money to influence the government to gain benefits; they eventually view this as an investment)
    • Includes large corporations, small businesses, trade associations and even farms
  • Example: Professional Interest Groups
    • Doctors, Lawyers, etc.
    • Social position make them important
      • Interest groups that involve medical practitioners for example, are also very involved in health care policy because they are experts in the field and they are often consulted about the implementation of health care policy, etc.

PRIVATE INTEREST GROUPS

• Labor
  • Labor Unions
  • Main role is to protect the jobs of its members and secure the best possible wages and benefits
  • They play a big role in Democratic fundraising (like helping support Democratic candidates)
  • But the power of the labor unions has declined recently
    • less membership
    • less public support

PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS

• Goals of public interest groups are broader and more society-wide
• Advocacy Groups
  • motivated by ideological concerns that seek to create a single ideological understanding
  • many advocacy groups are spawned by social movements
    • Civil Rights – NAACP
    • Women’s Rights – National Organization for Women
    • Environment – Environmental Defense Fund
  • They have professional staff, but are funded by public donations, large foundations, and membership dues
  • 2 Smaller Types
    • Local Government lobbying higher government
      • If a local government wants something from the higher government, they have to lobby for it; local governments act as interest groups
    • Non-profits looking to advance their work
      • National Red Cross (although their goals are not strictly political but what they are doing is they try to advance their work with a political wing)