Democratization and Our Problems Today

Although there are various interest groups that claim to be fighting for society at large, in reality the ideologies and orientations they support more or less contain interests. Therefore, from this perspective, the poor or the masses are unlikely to organize instrumentally with limited resources. Rather than acting as a channel for desires, stakeholder groups are vehicles that continue to dominate the interests of groups or subgroups at the top of society. It turns out that only some of these interest groups are able to influence or influence public policy, especially at the national level. Some other interest groups appear more as a reaction to current issues that arise or exist because of the interests of political parties. Some of these groups even function as interest groups.

Even Madison discussed this situation in one of his writings in the Federalist, where he discussed how the "evils of faction" (interest groups) would play an important role in American politics. Not surprisingly, he had extensive involvement with interest groups throughout his political career, suggesting that he believed that interest groups can have a positive impact on politics, but only if they support policies that promote the common good.

However, he acknowledged the divisive―perhaps divisive―nature of some interest groups. These splinter groups pursue their own selfish interests. Madison predicted that such groups would remain strong and active, and of course Madison was right. Political scientist Robert Dahl recently shared Madison's views in support of the theory of pluralistic democracy, arguing that political outcomes are achieved through competition and compromise between interest groups in a system of checks and balances.

*This article is the personal opinion of the author and does not represent the views of the editorial staff of Legal Literacy Indonesia.