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Interest Groups

Interest Groups. Incentives to join… 1. Solidary incentives (pleasure, status, companionship) - national org. create small local units and recruit new members - encouraged by strong local gov. in US - ie: NAACP, PTA, League of Women Voters (LWV)

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Interest Groups

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  1. Interest Groups Incentives to join… 1. Solidary incentives (pleasure, status, companionship) - national org. create small local units and recruit new members - encouraged by strong local gov. in US - ie: NAACP, PTA, League of Women Voters (LWV) 2. Material incentives (money, things, services) - to increase benefits for members, org. may try to influence how laws are administered - ie: farm bureaus, AARP (American Assoc. of Retired People) 3. Purposive incentives (appeal based on org. goals) - people join because they are passionate about the goals, have a strong sense of civic duty and the cost of joining is low

  2. - can be ideological, public interest groups, research groups designed to challenge laws and bring about lawsuits - publicity is important because membership is based on the public mood of the times- they may do best when the government is hostile to their agenda Problem of free-riders… * these are people in the public who benefit from the efforts of the org. without actually joining * cause org. to lose money because undermines incentive to join Interest groups often rise out of social movements (a widely shared demand for change in the social/political order- can be liberal or conservative) 1. Environmental movement - this movement developed in 3 distinct eras: 1. 1890s: conservation became an issue, Sierra Club founded (John Muir), first national parks

  3. 2. 1930s: Wilderness Society and National Wildlife Federation founded 3. 1960-1970s: conservation became popular again, Environmental Defense Fund and Environmental Action founded 2. Feminist Movement - 3 kinds of organizations 1. Solidary: League of Women Voters (LWV), Business and Professional Women’s Federation * mostly middle class women * avoids issues that might divide membership 2. Purposive: National Organization for Women (NOW) * highly activist org. that take strong positions on divisive issues * internal controversy is common * local org. highly independent from national org.

  4. 3. Material: Women’s Equity Action League (WEAL), National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) * addresses specific issues of material benefit 3. Labor Movement - labor unions have continued their activism after their social movement has died, but keeping members is difficult - economic changes haven’t worked toward unions’ benefit - public approval of unions is low - but still have tremendous political power

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