PT2

1

• Session 3

2
Theories of Political Systems

• Pluralist Theory
• Pluralism Power is fractured, spread over many
  groups. Countervailing powers balance each
  other. New groups can form, communicate their
  preferences, and influence outcomes.

3
Pluralism

• Elements of Pluralism
• Power is not monopolized
• The lower strata groups exercise power through
  the vote
• All active and legitimate groups can make
  themselves heard
• Groups have a multitude of techniques for making
  themselves heard

4
Pluralism

• This is the idea that political power lies in a
  complex combination of many groups and
  governmental officials and structures.
• Political power transcends social and economic
  class lines. Members of society have overlapping
  memberships in different groups, and these
  overlapping memberships bind society together and
  keep it from being too conflictual.
• So the phenomenon of multiple memberships
  resulted in a reduction in the powers of the
  organizational leadership.

5

• Interests compete in the political marketplace
• Competition provides the best outcomes
• Participation is natural

6

• Disturbance Theory (part of Pluralist Theory)
  Why groups and individuals become active
• Disturbances are conflicts that develop in
  society. And they arise from any number of
  sources associated with technological, social,
  economic, demographic, and even cultural change.
  Resolving conflicts entails, in the first step,
  recognizing and defining a disturbance and then
  joining with others to seek solutions.
• Any mutual interest,any shared attitude, is a
  potential group. A disturbance in established
  relationships anywhere in society may produce new
  patterns of interaction aimed at restricting or
  eliminating the disturbance. David Truman, The
  Governmental Process

7
Criticisms of Pluralism

• Those with greater resources are more likely to
  participate
• In the U.S. levels of participation are higher
  than in other countries
• There is coercion and violence
• So . . . Something is at work other than
  disturbances in society . . .

8

• Elite Theory
• Only a few have power, and they are different
  from the mass public. Policy changes are
  incremental, if they occur at all. Change occurs
  to preserve power and privilege of elites.

9

• Variation of Elite Theory
• Real differences exist between elite groups and
  excluded groups in the amount of power that they
  have in society. But it this is not static.
  Instead, changes in power distributions are
  inevitable and that elites will eventually cede
  some power to the masses.

10
Representation

• Descriptive Representatives look like the
  represented demographically
• Political Views The representatives share the
  views of the represented
• Collective Representation The representative
  body as a whole must reflect the represented