Pluralism: A Multitude Of Groups In The United States

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The theory of pluralism is defended as “a multitude of groups, not the people as a whole, govern the United States.” (H.T Reynolds) These groups would consist of “unions, trade and professional associations, environmentalists, civil rights activists, business and financial lobbies, and formal and informal coalitions.” (H.T Reynolds) The general public would only make up a small percentage of the people in control of the political world and therefore are merely bystanders in the process. The characteristics of pluralism are described as domination not being taken over by the elites but by a small group of organizations. Their power is limited to areas of defense, agriculture or, banking. The second characteristic of pluralism is groups that are politically autonomous or independent. Lastly, the third characteristic is competition within the group leads to the offset of influence. The power of on group will destroy the power of another group. …show more content…

They are able to understand how the other person sees and view different ideas while other people may find it hard to accept a certain viewpoint they may not agree on. These people in the group tend to be less prejudice towards minority groups. The people in the society are able to work towards a common goal more efficiently due to the fact everyone is able to bring different leadership ideas and qualities. Even though there are benefits to having a pluralistic society there are weaknesses as well. There is a risk of division within the fraction due to the vast amount of openness between one another belief system. This can lead to people being provoked. Favoritism also comes into the picture. A certain group of people can be given more power due to the fact they are more liked by the authorities

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