Plurism and Pressure Groups

Pluralism is a theory of the distribution of political power that says that the power is widely and evenly dispersed in society, rather than concentrated in the hands of an elite or ruling class. Thus, the pluralists have a positive view of pressure-group politics, believing that groups promote healthy debate and discussion and that pressure groups strengthen the democratic process.  Pluralism is based on the following assumptions:

• Citizens are represented largely through their membership of organized groups
• All groups have a measure of political influence
• There are many resources and ‘levers’ available to pressure groups (money, numbers, protests, etc) and these are widely spread
• No group can achieve a dominant position, because other groups will always challenge it – there is always a ‘countervailing power’.

Pluralism

The term pluralism generally refers to diversity or multiplicity (the existence of many things).

• Political pluralism ≈ competition for power between a numbers of parties
• Moral pluralism ≈ existence of a range of values and ethical beliefs
• Cultural pluralism ≈ existence of a variety of cultures or ethnic groups within the same society.

Pluralist Democracy

Pluralist democracy is a form of democracy that operates through the capacity of organized groups and interests to articulate popular demands and ensure government responsiveness. As such, it can be seen as an alternative to parliamentary democracy. The conditions for pluralist democracy include the following:

• There is a wide dispersal of power amongst competing groups and, in particular, there are no elite groups
• Groups are internally democratic in the sense that leaders are accountable to members
• Government is ‘neutral’ in the sense that it is willing to listen to any group or interest