The reason for why governments in developing countries sometimes are unable or unwilling to implement polices that create favorable conditions for economic growth boils down to two main reasons: social issues and political issues. Political issues are just as multifaceted as the social issues. Due to corrupt governments and regimes the lawlessness spreads throughout the developing nation like wildfire. Political issues revolve around the basic needs of a nation such as simple, yet, necessary infrastructure of schools, hospitals, septic tanks, etc. The necessity of public goods is vital for a developing country to survive, maintain, and become what we consider today, a developed country.
There are three distinct differences between political culture and political opinion which will be discussed throughout this essay. These include individualistic versus shared values, what influences political culture and political opinion, and what creates such difference in both. Political Culture Political culture is described as certain attitudes and practices by persons who shape political behavior. Political culture includes the beliefs, myths, ideas, our moral judgments and political myths about what makes a society ‘good’ or ‘successful.’ Political Culture is the subset of values and practices that relates to government and politics. Political culture is a reflection of the government, but also incorporates elements of history and tradition that may anticipate the current system.
In the pluralist model of democracy, pressure groups play an essential role. Political parties cannot provide adequate representation for the full range of diverse interests and opinions in a modern democracy because their key function is to aggregate interests into a coherent political entity capable of governing the country. Pressure groups enable particular interests and causes to be heard and to exert influence in public decision and decision-making. Yet it is precisely the representation of specialist interests and of single issues which may give cause for concern, both in terms of the methods used to achieve objectives and of the undue power and influence which particular lobbies can exert. Pluralists believe that pressure groups overcome the democratic deficit that builds up as most people’s political participation is to cast a vote every five years, this leading to people having little or no influence over decisions made between elections, and minority views not being represented.
It is how citizens within these societies function that the reader can deduce the differences and similarities. The World State and the United States have many resemblances and variances in their government, economy, and religions. The government in the World State holds totalitarian ideals while the United States has a democracy. Although a democracy, the American government manipulates society somewhat by developing genetically modified foods, test tube babies, and other manipulations in order to make a world of their liking. The government of the U.S. doesn’t control society completely, however.
The Green Party Versus the Democratic and Republican Parties The term “Politics” derives a varied response by the American People. In general, a person may term himself as either a Democrat or a Republican, but it is important to put the focus past these mainstream ideas. These two parties are not as different as many may believe, and one particular third-party comes to mind as a true democratic, “for the people” approach to domestic affairs. While looking at major issues such as universal health care, unions and wages, and global warming, one would notice that the stands taken by both the Democratic and Republican parties are very similar. The Green party stands for taking direct action.
‘If it isn’t broken don’t fix it.’ Discuss with reference to the electoral systems used for national elections in the UK and USA. The first past the post systems used in both the USA and the UK unquestionably have the potential to produce election results that are not representative of the break down of total votes in an election, providing results that don’t reflect voter wishes. One may argue that the electoral systems used in both the USA and UK marginalize minorities, causes wasted, insignificant votes and promote voter apathy. However despite the numerous criticisms of first past the post it has continued to be the system in place to decide the President in the USA and dictate which party forms government, and thus which party leader becomes Prime Minister in the UK, suggesting the system has its advantages. Proponents of the UK and US voting methods also often cite the lack of a credible alternative as a reason for the retention of the current systems.
Public Policy a.Define public policy. Public policy is both the written and unwritten laws of a society that suggest the moral, ethical and social behaviors of people (Capalli, 1997, p. 393). Some public policies are common understandings among a group of people that exist in a particular locale, while other public policies affect the whole of society within a certain nation. Public policies guide a society in the direction that the people believe that it should be headed. However, because economic and social factors are constantly changing within the social order, public policies change as well to meet the varying needs and goals of the people.
Can foreign policy be both “ethical” and Realist? “What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?”1 Foreign policy can be said to be the discourse of international politics – the means by which states present themselves, forge inter-state relationships and attempt to advance their own interests. However even a cursory examination of the topic yields several differing views on it, falling under the umbrella of several theories – Liberal Internationalism, Realism and Marxism, to name a few. Examining the Realist view in particular, raises the question of whether foreign policy is conducted purely for national self-interest, or whether it can have elements of morality and ethics factor into the justifications and motivations involved. Realism is the evolution of a long tradition of political thought, able to be traced as far back as Thucydides and his Melian dialogue; the core of Machiavelli’s famous treatise The Prince; keenly visible in the inter-war period of the 20th Century, and now seemingly ingrained in political thought as the “realistic” approach to politics, focused around the pursuit of power – “Man's control over the minds and actions of other men.”2 In the anarchic international system, with politically identical (that is, sovereign) states all jostling for position, the Realist view is one of self-help and a struggle for survival.
It is widely known that Governments intervene in economic matters, not only domestically but also worldwide. In this case costs and benefits are no longer exclusively national, and the policies to correct distortions and achieve other objectives also may have international repercussions. Once these considerations are taken into account, it is not clear that governments acting independently, even if they do follow their principles, will succeed in achieving their objectives. One way to address this issue is to ask, first, under what circumstances countries and their governments, acting optimally by their own criteria, can be left to their own devices. That is, under what conditions will independent national governments, setting policies in their own separate interests, achieve a world-wide configuration of policies that will be optimal for the world as a whole, in the sense that it cannot be unambiguously improved upon by another policy configuration.
Interest Groups as defined by SprakNotes (2010) are “organization’s of people who share a common interest and work together to protect and promote that interest by influencing the government”. They also vary greatly in size, aims and tactics but generally have either Economic or Noneconomic goals. This aside they both share the same core ideas and reasons for their existence and these are to make sure the “government remains responsive to the communities in which they serve” (Acker, V. Et al 2013). In knowing this, the purpose of this essay is to critically analyze the affects Interest Groups have on the society in which they operate and brings to attention the main positive and negative roles caused through their application such as the theory of Pluralism and its flaws, Hyperpluralism, and other roles in which they benefit or disadvantage society in general. This essay will argue that there is no one side when looking at the effects of interest groups and that the society in which they operate will continually feel both the positive and negative results of their activities.