A term that is more and more frequent on the news and an all the mass-media channels is interest groups. This begs the question what are interest groups? This term has been misinterpreted in many ways so far so I will try to paint a clearer picture on what they are and what their role is, and should be, in a democracy. Putting it simply, a interest group is made out of people who represent businesses of all shapes and sizes, that have the same interests, that share the same problems and want to adopt a common direction on the possible solution. Therefore they use various forms of lobbying to influence public opinion and decisions. The motive or the ways they do so vary from group to group. The public perception of these interest groups sometimes known as advocacy groups isn’t very good, but nonetheless they are an intricate part of the way our democracy works.

Interest groups are formed when different companies decide that they want to adopt a common position on a certain cause. To make their position heard and most importantly to try to influence the public officials that are decision makers in their particular cause, these companies choose people to represent their interests, and these people make-up the so called interest group. This is a very normal and tested democratic mechanism in decision making; the only problem that can arise is the lack of transparency. The way these interest groups choose to interact with the public officials should be as transparent as possible and every step of the process should be available to face public scrutiny. Therefore the lobbyist could for example propose a reduction in taxes if their companies invest in certain geographic areas that are underdeveloped. This way both sides have to gain from the decision, because the company can open a new branch where workers can be paid less and the state can resolve the unemployment problem that usually arises in these regions. This is an example of the proper way a interest group should function.

On the other hand, the danger that is associated with interest groups is that of bribing public officials to favor their companies in awarding government contracts or other benefits. This is why lobbying should be done in a transparent way because basically it’s a competition between two or more products; and the salesmen are the interest groups. The one who has the best offer should win the contract; and the offers should be available for the general public to see as well. If lobbying is not done in a transparent way then the public can not find out why the official that they elected chose one course of action instead of the other. The chosen course of action of the elected official should be able to face public scrutiny. Therefore the decision should make common sense. If something seems suspicious in the decision, than the public opinion will turn against the official, not to mention the possibility of the authorities taking legal action against him, when they get tipped off by members of the civic society.

The transparency of the way interest groups work is one of the most important characteristics of an uncorrupted democracy. So what are interest groups other than the corner stone of our current capitalist democratic system? They make sure that interests of everybody who wishes to make himself heard will be heard. The problem that arouses out of the way interest groups work in today’s society is that of representation of only the richest. Few organizations can afford to make an efficient lobby, so sometimes the voice of the little guys isn’t heard. The solution for this is of course the forming of an association of a lot of these little companies so they can be better represented. Sometimes this means that some issues will not be common for everybody in the association and therefore won’t make the grade for being proposed in the name of the association.

Interest groups are also known as advocacy groups, and their influence is very evident in the most developed countries of the world. For example some of the biggest advocacy groups are found in the United States such as The American Israel Lobby that is one of the key players in dictating American foreign policy in the Middle East. Also the UK is a very good example where the British Medical Association formed in 1832 put the basis of the Medical Act 1858 and the General Medical Council which has set the legal guidelines for the activity of doctors in the UK. So, interest groups are not only an important piece in the democratic capitalist system, they are the corner stone of it. What are interest groups should be a basic question on anyone’s mind.

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