Which Pressure Groups Are the Most Powerful?
Which pressure groups are the most powerful?
Some pressure groups are clearly more powerful than others. Some succeed while others fail. But what does ‘success’ mean? How can we weigh up pressure-group power or influence? These are difficult questions because ‘success’ may be measured in different ways. Success may mean:
* Affecting government policy – policy-making power. * Pushing an issue up the political agenda – agenda-setting power. * Changing people’s values, perceptions and behaviour – ideological power
Another difficulty in measuring pressure-group power is that there is considerable debate about how power is distributed amongst pressure groups. There is disagreement, in particular, about whether pressure groups tend to widen the distribution of power, giving power to the people, or whether they tend to concentrate it, strengthening the already powerful. This is often portrayed as a battle between two rival theories of political power, pluralism and elitism. The debate has major implications for the relationship between pressure groups and democracy.
In practice, a variety of factors affect the power of individual groups. These include the following: * Wealth * Size * Organization and leadership * The government’s views * Popular support * The effectiveness of opposition
Wealth
The most powerful pressure groups in the country are the ones that government must listen to because they have financial and economic power – they are wealthy. This largely explains the power of business groups. Why does government listen to major corporations (such as Shell, BP, Barclays, ICI, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, BAE Systems, BT and Vodaphone) and to their peak groups and trade associations?
Business groups have a number of key advantages over other groups: * As the main source of employment and investment in the economy, all governments, regardless of their ideological beliefs, must seek their cooperation and support. * They
Some pressure groups are clearly more powerful than others. Some succeed while others fail. But what does ‘success’ mean? How can we weigh up pressure-group power or influence? These are difficult questions because ‘success’ may be measured in different ways. Success may mean:
* Affecting government policy – policy-making power. * Pushing an issue up the political agenda – agenda-setting power. * Changing people’s values, perceptions and behaviour – ideological power
Another difficulty in measuring pressure-group power is that there is considerable debate about how power is distributed amongst pressure groups. There is disagreement, in particular, about whether pressure groups tend to widen the distribution of power, giving power to the people, or whether they tend to concentrate it, strengthening the already powerful. This is often portrayed as a battle between two rival theories of political power, pluralism and elitism. The debate has major implications for the relationship between pressure groups and democracy.
In practice, a variety of factors affect the power of individual groups. These include the following: * Wealth * Size * Organization and leadership * The government’s views * Popular support * The effectiveness of opposition
Wealth
The most powerful pressure groups in the country are the ones that government must listen to because they have financial and economic power – they are wealthy. This largely explains the power of business groups. Why does government listen to major corporations (such as Shell, BP, Barclays, ICI, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, BAE Systems, BT and Vodaphone) and to their peak groups and trade associations?
Business groups have a number of key advantages over other groups: * As the main source of employment and investment in the economy, all governments, regardless of their ideological beliefs, must seek their cooperation and support. * They