Unit 12 Interest Groups Key Terms and Quiz

The air we breathe is an example of a a. private good. b. negative externality. c. material good. d. mass-produced good. e. collective good.

e. collective good.

Theodore Lowi's theory of interest-group liberalism a. constitutes a partial and wrongful abdication by government of its authority over policy. b. argues that lawmakers are rightly prevented from using government to promote group interests. c. posits that interest groups result in an efficient use of society's resources. d. describes the effect of groups on policy, resulting in a system of rule by majorities. e. deals with the tendency of officials to support the policy demands of the interest group or groups that have a special stake in a policy.

e. deals with the tendency of officials to support the policy demands of the interest group or groups that have a special stake in a policy.

political action committee (PAC)

a financial mechinism used by interest groups to raise and distribute money for election purposes

outside lobbying

a form of lobbying in which an interest group seeks to use public opinion and pressure as a means of influencing officials

iron triangle

a small and informal but relatively stable group of well-positioned legislators, bureaucrats and lobbyists who seek to promote mutually beneficial public policies

Why did Representative Tom DeLay lose his post as House majority leader? a. He was implicated in a scandal involving campaign donations from lobbyist Jack Abramoff. b. He was forced out through the leveraging of money by a host of PACs, who opposed his attempts to limit their influence. c. He was voted out of office when Democrats were able to paint him as an unscrupulous supporter of big business. d. The major labor unions turned against him and encouraged their supporters to vote him out of office when he opposed their lobbying efforts. e. He angered the members of the AARP by suggesting that government retirement benefits should be cut.

a. He was implicated in a scandal involving campaign donations from lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) a. allows corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited funds on campaigns. b. limits PACs by reducing the amount of money they can raise through contributions by small donors. c. has forced candidates for office and elected officials to make public the amounts of campaign contributions they have received from PACs and which PACs make those donations. d. has strengthened the argument that PACs constitute a better system of campaign finance than one based on wealthy donors. e. has forced corporations and labor unions to legally divorce themselves from the PACs they sponsor.

a. allows corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited funds on campaigns.

According to E. E. Schattschneider, the interest-group system has a a. strong upper-class bias. b. strong working-class bias. c. strong bias in favor of liberal Democrats. d. strong bias in favor of moderate Republicans. e. strong bias in favor of racial minorities.

a. strong upper-class bias.

A flaw in pluralism theory is the fact that a. the interest group system is unrepresentative because some interests are far better organized and more powerful than others. b. the public interest is never served by policies that promote special interests. c. larger groups always prevail politically over smaller groups. d. political parties better represent different interests than do interest groups. e. All these answers are correct

a. the interest group system is unrepresentative because some interests are far better organized and more powerful than others.

issue network

an informal and relatively open coalition of public officials and lobbyists who have a common interest that are brought together by a proposed public policy

interest group

any organization that actively seeks to influence public policy favorable to its interests

The most fully organized interests are those that have which of the following as their primary purpose? a. agriculture b. economic activity c. civil liberties d. labor reform e. reform of government

b. economic activity

A pluralist could be expected to argue that a. the presidency is more representative of society's interests than is the Congress. b. society is best seen as a collection of separate interests. c. U.S. society is best run by a power elite. d. most interests are poorly represented through the group process. e. the judiciary is more representative of society's interests than is the Congress.

b. society is best seen as a collection of separate interests.

private good

benefits that an interest group (most often an economic group) can grant directly and exclusively to individual members of the group

collective goods

benefits that are offered by interest groups as an incentive for membership but available to nonmembers

Which of the following statements would NOT be accepted by supporters of the pluralist view of interest groups? a. People's separate interests are a legitimate basis of public policy. b. The idea of the public interest or the collective interest does not have much meaning in cases where the public is sharply divided in its policy opinions. c. The opinion of the majority should always prevail in a policy dispute over the opinion of a more intense and directly affected minority. d. Most interests benefit from the workings of the group system, which is a reason to support a policy process that is responsive to groups. e. Public policy should represent the diversity that exists in society.

c. The opinion of the majority should always prevail in a policy dispute over the opinion of a more intense and directly affected minority.

A main difference between iron triangles and issue networks is that a. an iron triangle includes members of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, while issue networks bypass the judicial branch. b. issue networks involve a stable group of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists, while iron triangles exclude lobbyists in an attempt to reach impartial decisions. c. issue networks are generally less stable than iron triangles, in that the members of an issue network may change as the issue develops. d. issue networks, being less formal, rely on outside lobbying only, while iron triangles use inside lobbying only. e. All these answers are correct.

c. issue networks are generally less stable than iron triangles, in that the members of an issue network may change as the issue develops.

Roughly how many American workers currently belong to unions? a. one in two b. one in four c. one in eight d. one in six e. one in ten

c. one in eight

Which citizens' group did a Fortune magazine survey rank as the nation's most powerful lobbying group? a. the NAACP b. the AFL-CIO c. the AARP d. MADD e. Common Cause

c. the AARP

The theory that society's interests are most effectively represented through group action is a. republicanism. b. constitutionalism. c. elitist theory. d. pluralist theory. e. interest-group liberalism.

d. pluralist theory.

inside lobbying

direct communication between organized interests and policymakers, which is based on the assumed value of close contacts and relationships with policymakers

The limits of interest groups' influence might be gauged by the Democratic backlash against the _______, which tried to block the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993. a. ACLU b. Sierra Club c. Izaak Walton League d. AARP e. AFL-CIO

e. AFL-CIO

The influence of interest groups through the courts occurs through a. initiating lawsuits. b. lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench. c. outside lobbying only. d. PACs. e. both initiating lawsuits and lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench.

e. both initiating lawsuits and lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench.

economic groups

interest groups that are organized to benefit the economic interests of its members

citizens' groups

interest groups that promote a cause in which they believe but that does not provide them significant individual economic benefits

lobbying

the process by which interest-group members or lobbyists (usually hired professionals) attempt to influence public policy through contacts with public officials

free-rider problem

the situation when an interest group offers a collective good so the incentive to join the group and to promote its cause are reduced because nonmembers (free riders) receive the benefits without having to pay any of the group's costs.