Democratic Politics

(iii) Is their influence healthy ?
(a) It may initially appear that it is not healthy for groups that promote interest of one section to have influence in democracy. A democracy must look after the interest of all, not just one section. Also, it may seem that these groups wield power without responsibility. Political parties have to face the people in elections, but these groups are not accountable to the people. Pressure groups and movements may not get their funds and support from the people. Sometimes, pressure groups with small public support but lost of money can highjack public discussion in favour their narrow agenda.
(b) On balance, however, pressure groups and movements have deepened democracy. Putting pressure on the rulers is not an unhealthy activity in a democracy as long as everyone gets this opportunity. Governments can often some under under pressure from a small group of rich and powerful people. Public interest groups and movements perform a useful role of countering this in due influence and reminding the government of the needs and concerns of ordinary citizens.
(c) Even the sectional interest groups play a valuable role. Where different groups function actively, no one single group can achieve dominance over society. If one group brings pressure on governments to make policies in its favour, another will bring counter pressure not make policies in the way the first groups desires. The government gets to hear about what different sections of the population wants. This leads to a rough balance of power and accommodation of conflicting interests.