What roles do interest groups play in influencing public opinion and Essay

What roles do interest groups play in influencing public opinion and the political process What kinds of interest groups are they How do they contribute to, or hinder a healthy democracy - Essay Example It is important to note that in political science, the main points of argument refer to the particular study of what individuals get, the time they are to get it and the process to be followed in getting it. This has led to many questions about how the government carries out its governance process. For instance, why does it have different tax regimes for different people and firms? Why some benefits are made available to certain groups of people and not others among others. Most of the answers to these questions in the American example depend on the political and socioeconomic processes and the work of interest groups The works of interest groups cannot be underestimated in any country; in the United States, these groups are important channels through which people express their ideas and make their views known to people they elected in governance. Citizens can always channel their views and concerns to interest groups that articulate their concerns to various arms of the government and other public institutions (Maisel 25). In the United States, interest groups find fertile grounds to advance their interests through the informal traditions and the formal structures existing in the country (Hays para 5). It is important to note that these groups find their great source of influence from the fact that political parties in the US are thought to have some weaknesses as far as tackling the interests of people in the country is concerned. Another important feature of the American political system that encourages the functioning of interest groups relates to the way political power is decentralized to various localities and states. This is known as federalism, and plays a big role in the way citizen associations begin; mostly at the local level and the state and later coming together to make strong influential groups at the national level Interest groups made up of business people and corporate groups agree that they are critical to