Private Interest vs. Public Interest Groups essays

Private Interest vs. Public Interest Groups essays Interest groups abound in the United States thanks to several factors. First and foremost, our own Federalist government, with many centers of power, in combination with the freedom secured by our Constitution, encourages the forming of interest groups. As constituents see wavering political parties, with blurred political lines, interest groups are created to ensure strong stands are taken on issues. And lastly, interest groups proliferate, in part, due to "the great number of social cleavages along income, occupational, religious, racial, and cultural lines." ("Interest Groups") With all of this activity, why is the Board of the Consumers' Association having difficulty attracting new It is understandable that the Board is feeling frustration in the apathy they perceive from Americans in general. Americans are blessed to live in a country that is comfortable for the average resident. Certainly there are challenges that need to still be addressed in the Land of the Free, however, in comparison to other countries still under tyrannical oppression, Americans have it pretty good. This comfort level brings about a level of apathy. Couple this with a natural human resistance to change, and it becomes clearer why more Americans aren't active in any interest group, let alone the Board's. To counter this, the Board needs to first determine whether they are a public or private interest group. A public interest group is one that concerns itself with issues that affect the nation as a whole. With this wide demographic to solicit, they have the benefit of soliciting support from every citizen of the United States. Their weakness however is that oftentimes their stand on public issues is on one extreme end of the spectrum, which the average American, although agreeing with the stand in general, cannot support the extremity to which they've gone. An example of thi ...