Interest group liberalism
Encyclopedia
Interest group liberalism is Theodore Lowi's term for the clientelism resulting from the broad expansion of public programs in the United States
, including those programs which were part of the "Great Society
."
Lowi's seminal book, first published in 1969, was titled The End of Liberalism
, and presented a critique of the role of interest groups in American government, arguing that "any group representing anything at all, is dealt with and judged according the political resources it bring to the table and not for the moral or rationalist strength of its interest." Lowi's critique stood out in sharp contrast to theories of pluralism
, championed by Robert Dahl and others, which argued that interest groups provide competition and a necessary democratic link between people and government.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, including those programs which were part of the "Great Society
Great Society
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States promoted by President Lyndon B. Johnson and fellow Democrats in Congress in the 1960s. Two main goals of the Great Society social reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice...
."
Lowi's seminal book, first published in 1969, was titled The End of Liberalism
The End of Liberalism
The End of Liberalism: The Second Republic of the United States is a non-fiction book by Theodore J. Lowi and is considered a modern classic of political science. Originally published in 1969 , the book was revised for a second edition in 1979 with the political developments of the 1970s taken into...
, and presented a critique of the role of interest groups in American government, arguing that "any group representing anything at all, is dealt with and judged according the political resources it bring to the table and not for the moral or rationalist strength of its interest." Lowi's critique stood out in sharp contrast to theories of pluralism
Pluralism (political theory)
Classical pluralism is the view that politics and decision making are located mostly in the framework of government, but that many non-governmental groups use their resources to exert influence. The central question for classical pluralism is how power and influence is distributed in a political...
, championed by Robert Dahl and others, which argued that interest groups provide competition and a necessary democratic link between people and government.
See also
- Interest group
- Client politicsClient politicsClient politics is the type of politics when an organized minority or interest group benefits at the expense of the public. Client politics may have a strong interaction with the dynamics of identity politics....
- Interest group democracyInterest group democracyInterest group democracy was an attempt by the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt to create broad support for the New Deal by giving major interest groups at least part of what they wanted...
- Identity politicsIdentity politicsIdentity politics are political arguments that focus upon the self interest and perspectives of self-identified social interest groups and ways in which people's politics may be shaped by aspects of their identity through race, class, religion, sexual orientation or traditional dominance...