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Pressure groups and government
Impact of pressure groups on government
Impact of pressure groups on government
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Social Democracy
Pluralism
By definition - A system of government that allows and encourages
public participation, particularly through the activities of pressure
groups seeking to influence the government.
Traditional socialism has always been associated with an analysis of
society that class differences are crucial, in particular the middle
classes - those who have gained to the working classes expense -
summarised, the two classes interests are in conflict. Social
democrats believe society is far more complex than a class interest
struggle, and this concept becomes outdated in a pluralist society - a
community of individuals and varied interests.
Traditional Socialism is arguably intolerant in its outlook with
1) A reluctance to accept that there may be other ways to achieve
socialist goals (equality of opportunity, welfare provision etc)
2) Assumptions that all people will benefit from these goals.
Social Democracy provides the prospect of choice - the right to choose
which services they wish to co...
Commanding Heights: Social Assignment 1. Response of socialism to Classical liberalism: Classical liberalism is an ideology that embraces the principles of individualism such as rule of law, individual rights and freedoms, private property, economic freedom, self-interest, and competition. Classical liberalism stresses the importance of human rationality. Just as it values political freedom, classical liberalism also holds freedom to be the basic standard in economics, and believes the most beneficial economic system to be the free market. Whereas, the term socialism, when generally used, refers to any ideology that believes that resources should be controlled by the public for the benefit of everyone in society and not by private interests for the benefit of private owners and investors.
...es. By adapting socialist ideals into a capitalist economic and social system a prosperous society results.
Schumpeter, J.A. (1942). Capitalism, socialism, and democracy. United States of America, USA: Harper and Brothers Publishers.
In Federalist No. 10, James Madison stresses that “measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.” Madison philosophized that a large republic, composed of numerous factions capable of competing with each other and the majority must exist in order to avoid tyranny of majority rule.# When Federalist No. 10 was published, the concept of pluralism was not widely used. However, the political theory that is the foundation for United States government was the influential force behind pluralism and its doctrines.
The theory of democratic socialism is to provide a society in which the needs of all people, not just the wealthy, are met. It also involves the sharing of wealth among the society as a whole. Democratic socialism is a political and economic theory of social organization that basically states that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community, not just a few people. In layman’s terms, it is common ownership. Every citizen under socialism is considered truly equal, every citizen has a voice in the government, and everyone's rights are equally important.
Both socialism and democratic socialism overlap and interact with a few different ideologies. The most notable are the intersection between democratic socialism and liberalism. Both liberals and social democrats advocate for a relatively large welfare state, in order to take care of the poor and offer a social safety net. Both ideologies also believe in a sort of collective responsibility to society. They believe the purpose of people is greater than just the individual. Socialism and Liberalism also both see flaws in capitalism and have strategies to address them. Whether it’s replacing them or preventing the downsides.
Social Stratification has a stronger based argument in its description of contemporary Caribbean Social life than Pluralism, however can both be used to analyze aspects of all societies to varying degrees. They are not mutually exclusive, both consensus and dissensus, cohesion and conflict, are present in varying degrees in all societies (van den Berghe 1963; Lenski 1966; Williams 1966; Mitchell 1970). Pluralism, according to Furnival is where different ethnic groups in a society remain separate and distinct except for when they converge or meet in the market place. The market place lacks the distinctive characteristics required for the organic solidarity Durkheim had envisioned, instead involving brutal conflict and exploitation. The norms,
In an article titled Socialism Is Not Harmful they instead believe that democracy and socialism complement one another and that the corporation and the society should meet the needs of all people (2). The Democratic Socialist do not believe that the government should own every business, but that businesses should be ran by the employees who work for them (2). Their main goal is to get wealth into as many peoples hands as possible. What they despise is not the very rich, instead what they are actively speaking against is the gap between the very rich and the rest of the working class. The remainder of the article is spent trying to discredit myths spread about socialism, such as the government wanting to own everything and assuring people that they are not
Socialism belongs to a family of ideologies, and springs from a common impulse. It envisions a society in which everyone contributes their time, labor, and talent to a common pool, and in return receives enough goods to satisfy their needs. It condemns the exploitation of one individual or class by another that occurs, so for example “when one profits from another’s labor.” Socialism also believes that property should be to benefit the public at large, not the wealthy. Socialists tend to favor peaceful and piecemeal reforms as a way of bringing about a socialist society, in which they envision a society whose major means of production are mines, mills, factories, power plants, etc. which are either publically owned or operated to benefit the public (187). Karl Marx’s envision for socialist transformation was, “a society that is changed not through moral suasion, but by understanding the hidden structures and process of material production.” The key to this was the “materialist conception of history” this made the primary determinants of social stability and change, material production and class struggle.
In addition, democracy maintains the right of choice. These characteristics are the most appealing and dominate because people can formulate decisions based on their cultural, religious, interpersonal, intrapersonal beliefs that outline who...
The societies of the modern day are shaped largely around the economic model or infrastructure that has been implement into the lives of citizens. These varying “economic models” alter the ways of domestic culture, and thus serve to be warranted much more attention and examination. Capitalism and Socialism are the two dominant ideologies that seem to invoke the opposite ends of the spectrum in the societal effect aspect. The far right capitalist, evoking a connotation of free business and anti-regulatory economic growth, comprised of a great deal of the Western world and provided a high risk-reward system that created a great number of wealthy elite and even more low-class blue collar workers. Conventional wisdom leads one to obviously find the opposing mindset with Socialism and its many degrees. The left wing socialist was characterized by a controlled economy and a strict government market. This system was heralded as system with no losers and social equality; thus, a gap-less population with a high standard of life. The course of this work will provide and explain the differences between Capitalism and Socialism; therefore, in the conclusion, the two societal roles will be defined. This will lead to a much more conclusive conclusion when examining, promoting, or denying either system.
With power widely and evenly dispersed in society, rather than concentrated in the hands of the elite, pluralism complements democracy and ensures that those in charge respect the concerns and interests of the individual. In conclusion, it can be seen that pluralism and toleration are widely supported by liberals since they promote individual sovereignty whilst benefiting society at the same time.
In the United States, socialism is widely viewed as ‘bad word’, as an insult of sorts. There is no better example of this than in the last presidential election, when the right would routinely use the term to criticize president Obama and his peers. Despite the fact that many Americans still place a taboo on the term, socialist ideals such as universal healthcare, a merit based university system and stopping the greed of the upper class are becoming increasingly popular. Over the past few hundred years, capitalists have destroyed our planet and our people in search of a profit, and the need for change has never been greater than now. Thus, in order to guarantee fair treatment to all individuals and be able to live sustainably on our planet for many more generations, socialism must become the dominant economic system on our planet.
In a democracy, free and fair elections which are held after around half a decade, guarantee social rights and equality. These elections ensure that every citizen has the right to vote, and hence they create social stability among the society. Each and every individual casting his vote in the elections reduces discrimination among the people. Citizens are not judged on the basis of religion, race, color, social status and so on. In this way, the dignity of nationals is not damaged and people can live in peace. In addition to voting rights, a democracy also assures access to other services like security, education, property rights, and healthcare facilities. These human rights maintain social equity and involv...