The relationship between members of Congress and interest groups reflects a delicate balance: Members certainly benefit from the information that interest groups provide, but members also run the risk of being misled by inaccurate or biased information. When interest groups provide members with information that furthers the member’s goals, it seems as if the pluralist ideal of democracy is realized—by receiving accurate information, members may produce policies that more accurately reflect the preferences of their constituency. This further leads to a more accurate, representative, and responsive Congress.

If we assume that interest groups always provide helpful information, does it necessarily mean that the pluralist ideal is realized? Think back to what we learned about group formation and maintenance—are there particular properties of interest groups that might corrupt the pluralist ideal? If you conclude that the pluralist ideal is unrealistic, what leads you to those conclusions? In other words, what is it about groups that may render the pluralist ideal far from perfect?

You should conclude by suggesting what this means for the representation of interests in Congress--what sorts of policies are generated and which groups do those policies favor? If policies favor some groups over others, do members of Congress have incentives to correct the situation and restore representational equality?

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How to Properly Cite Sources

Books:

• Last Name, First Name [and coauthor first name, last name]. Date of publication. Book Title. City of Publisher: Publisher.
  Examples:
  Single Author
  Aldrich, John. 1995. Why Parties? Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  Multiple Authors
  Brehm, John and Scott Gates. 1999. Working, Shirking, and Sabotage. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
  Book Chapters
  Herrnson, Paul. 1997. "Money and Motives: Spending in House Elections." in Lawrence Dodd and Bruce Oppenheimer, eds., Congress Reconsidered. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly.

Journal Articles:

• Last Name, First Name [and coauthor first name, last name]. Date of publication. "Article Title." Journal Title Volume #: Page Numbers.
  Example:
  Hansen, John Mark. 1985. "The Political Economy of Group Membership." American Political Science Review 79: 79-96.

Web Sites:

• Author of content (if any). Date accessed. "Title of page." Website. Page address.
  Examples:
  Jehl, Douglas. December 21, 2000. "New Rules to Cut Diesel Emissions." New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/21/politics/21FUEL.html
  Greenpeace. December 21, 2000. "Russian Parliament Votes to Become the World's Nuclear Dump Site." Greenpeace. http://www.greenpeace.org/~nuclear