Examining the Ways a Pressure Group Contributes to...

Examining the Ways a Pressure Group Contributes to Representative Democracy In a representative democracy, citizens elect representatives to make decisions for them. In doing this, citizens hand over the responsibility for making decisions to someone else. In Britian voters elect members of parliament’s (MPs) to represent them every four to five years and this makes the representatives in some way accountable to the electorate. However many are unsatisfied with their representation and join pressure groups to make their views heard. The question is, is this good or bad for our democracy? Pluralism is the way in which the electorate joins groups to have an effect on government. Many†¦show more content†¦Many people thing the system of having pressure groups complements a representative democracy because surely the right to join groups is a mark of a free society. Many people think minority voices are generally unheeded; pressure groups mean that these minorities can be heard more effectively an example of this is the pressure group Gay lib. Another positive thing about pressure groups of that they encourage political participation. In a country where the number of people who vote is going down, pressure groups allow people to become more politically aware especially those under the age of eighteen. This means more people will use their votes - something which is surely good for representative democracy. However some people argue that pressure groups are not good for democracy. They say that the government has its own agenda and won’t act as a referee for all the pressure groups. they say that although pressure groups may be considered they likely to be ignored if they do not conform with the government. Pro-pluralists come back and this argument by saying that the amount of forces acting on each other from different pressure groups will mean that everyone has an input and public policy is a happy medium. They point out that for every group there is an apposing pressure group for instance campaign for state education versusShow MoreRelatedStrengths and Weaknesses of the Social Capital Approach2471 Words   |  10 Pagesorganizations in civil society are vital for democracy. They result in building social capital, trust and shared values, which politically, help hold society together. Putnam’s civil society is the idea that positive outcomes in government are a produ ct of civic community, for example, networks of trust such as, soccer club or choral society (Putnam). 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