Information and Politics There is an information asymmetry between the government and the public or voters. The government has the upper hand in terms of information as politicians know very well what they are capable of and what they plan on doing once they are elected. They also have a political network that provides them access to policy advice. On the other hand, voters suffer from imperfect information. The mass media, therefore, helps to bridge this information gap by providing political news to the voters.
Robert Dahl and Charles Lindbolm suggest a pluralist view of democracy suggesting that pressure groups are beneficial to democracy. They enable political participation in national and local politics providing a role for individuals in the system. The work of pressure groups monitors the government and holds it to account and as a result can leak and expose information. As pressure groups aim to influence public policies either by direct action or lobbying and raising awareness of an issue as groups compete to influence policies and the government may take advice from them. Furthermore pressures groups are essential to democracy as they give the opportunity for minorities such as ethnic groups and genders to express distinctive points of view, encouraging people to become involved with decision making and public life forming a link between the government and the people.
Explain why interest groups are especially numerous in the United States. Interest groups are so numerous in the United States because in a democracy, there are so many different kinds of interests and ideas to represent. The people are given the power to voice their opinions and attempt to influence legislation through this freedom. According to the Disturbance Theory, interest groups form in order to counteract the actions of other interest groups. Thus, groups like those that represent singular ideas form to counter the ideas of other groups.
They may consist of either one chamber called unicameral or two chambers which are known as bicameral. A bicameral assembly has many advantages; the second chamber can check the power of the first chamber and both chambers can effectively check the power of the executive to expose any failings of the government. Second chambers also act as a constitutional safeguard, delaying the passage of controversial legislation and allowing discussion and debate (Heywood, 2004, p.321). The second chamber can ensure that legislation is more thoroughly scrutinized, by relieving the burden of the first chamber and can rectify any mistakes and oversights. However, there also some drawbacks to the bicameral system because it can make the legislative process unnecessarily complex and difficult.
Select ONE contemporary political movement, identify one or more symbols that are associated with it and describe the struggle that it wages over these symbols: Symbols help organize ideas, values, and experiences. But, one must be careful with the symbols because they often have unexpected meaning. Symbols play very important in politics. There are two sides of symbolic politics: the politics of symbols and the symbolic aspects of politics. The politics of symbols refers to the creation, elaboration, and the use of symbols for political purposes.
Ferderalism divides the power of government based on territory. It is important to our government because it allows people living in different states with different needs and interests to set policies to their state, and they still can all come together as a nation with other states. States has different resources, population, interests, needs, etc. They also set up different kinds of laws in each state. So this means that states are governing themselves in one nation.
Citizens must be engage in the decision making because this will have great impact on their life, therefore they should vote to express their opinion in the government. Voting is a privilege and a responsibility to citizen to participate in public affairs and choose those who should govern them. In the democratic process an election allows people to be represented in the political institution and now with the modern technology, it is easy to communicate and investigate the candidate and to make a decision on the party that will provide better services. Whether a citizen is voting individually or belong to an interest group donating funds will help him play a role in the influence on political
This is an effective check because when minister have their question time the opposition should be ready to criticize and demand answers. This ensures that a Government is credible and held accountable. If not, an unchallenged government can make mistakes. The Commons are also play as a check point for legislation. Most of the UK’s legislation originates from the government.
The decisions that affect welfare reform such as health care, defense, environment and taxes - is not merely a conversation between politicians, the public and "special interests". It is also the product of the many foundations - the "think tanks" - dedicated to discovering what is best for all, or at least for some of us. What they bring to the process is not only honest research, but also heart-felt ideology and what is often a dedication to differing priorities and outcomes. I believe there is many important factors that are considered in political reform decision-making process that is not favorable, justified and quantified. Citizens of industrialized democratic nations like the United States, often hold there elected and appointed leaders
Georgia Taggart Politics Essay: “Pressure group action poses a threat to the form of representative democracy practiced in Britain”. Discuss. A pressure group is a group of like-minded people who have shared interests, interests of which they try to influence and put pressure on policy makers and beyond. Pressure groups, unlike political parties, do not seek election themselves, they just wish to influence those who are elected in order to amend or make policies. Pressure groups can either insider or outsider groups.