However, sometimes adverse situations impacting individuals have been on-going or even worsened without any interest group being formed. The result was an increase in both the number of environmental interest groups, such as Greenpeace and American Rivers, and the number of members within them. The book served as a catalyst for individuals worried about the environment and the potential dangers of pesticides. įor example, in 1962, Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, a book exposing the dangers posed by pesticides such as DDT. The Theory states that interest groups form and grow in response to perceived threats, which has a direct cause and effect outcome on interest group formation. David Truman stated that interest groups form primarily when there are changes in a social environment that upsets the well-being of some groups of people. This theory, Known as the disturbance theory, describes the origins of interest groups as a natural reaction to a “disturbance in society.” That is, when the social, economic, or political environment is disturbed, a group or groups emerge in response to the disturbed conditions to press for policy change. Why did these particular groups arise? Some scholars argue that groups form due to an event in the political, economic, or social environment. Over the past several decades, the United States witnessed a tremendous growth in the number of interest groups. Interest Group Formation: Two Conflicting Theories
Identify the barriers to interest group participation in the United States.
Explain why lower socioeconomic status citizens are not well represented by interest groups.Discuss recent changes to interest groups and the way they operate in the United States.Analyze how interest groups provide a means for political participation.Describe free riding and the reasons it occurs.Explain theories of interest group formation.
0 kommentar(er)
