Classical Pluralism
1180061- Choose one of the epistemological or theoretical approaches dealt with in semester one. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this approach?
In this essay I will be focussing on classical pluralism and will be talking about its strengths and weaknesses. Nowadays pluralism is regarded highly in terms of the way in which people view society. Although many pluralists are often positivists and believe that all groups have an influence over the government, the system does have many flaws and criticisms which I will be examining throughout this essay.
Firstly, the main theme in Pluralism is to do with groups. There are many groups in society who try to influence the government and the way in which they make decisions. This could be good for a country as there are many ideas that are being created. Furthermore, it is difficult to say that one group can dominate society due to the complexity of the state. (Obasohan, 2009)
Pluralists argue that everyone in society has a say because the state acts in the national interest. This means minority groups and disadvantaged groups have equal rights as everyone else and can try to influence the government in some way. Pluralists also believe that the system shows how power is spread across society rather than society being about a few groups. This power can be executed when people join trade unions and other pressure groups. In addition, this diversity shows that people can influence the state in different ways. (Trueman, 2000)
Berlin believed that the idea of pluralism was a bit ambiguous and that conflicts will arise. The idea of liberty is important to Pluralism and Berlin said that they were connected due to the concept of choice: “The conflicts between values and ways of life that are the matter of pluralism require people to make choices.” (Cherniss, 2010)
The state does not take sides so it has to look at society from all different angles. This is when we get different ideas being proposed and it can lead to
In this essay I will be focussing on classical pluralism and will be talking about its strengths and weaknesses. Nowadays pluralism is regarded highly in terms of the way in which people view society. Although many pluralists are often positivists and believe that all groups have an influence over the government, the system does have many flaws and criticisms which I will be examining throughout this essay.
Firstly, the main theme in Pluralism is to do with groups. There are many groups in society who try to influence the government and the way in which they make decisions. This could be good for a country as there are many ideas that are being created. Furthermore, it is difficult to say that one group can dominate society due to the complexity of the state. (Obasohan, 2009)
Pluralists argue that everyone in society has a say because the state acts in the national interest. This means minority groups and disadvantaged groups have equal rights as everyone else and can try to influence the government in some way. Pluralists also believe that the system shows how power is spread across society rather than society being about a few groups. This power can be executed when people join trade unions and other pressure groups. In addition, this diversity shows that people can influence the state in different ways. (Trueman, 2000)
Berlin believed that the idea of pluralism was a bit ambiguous and that conflicts will arise. The idea of liberty is important to Pluralism and Berlin said that they were connected due to the concept of choice: “The conflicts between values and ways of life that are the matter of pluralism require people to make choices.” (Cherniss, 2010)
The state does not take sides so it has to look at society from all different angles. This is when we get different ideas being proposed and it can lead to