quote:

Originally posted by Dilmeet to what extent, do you guys think, should politicians listen and/or reject interest groups?

Well it probably depends on the country and its culture.

In the case of the USA, we seem to be unable to handle it.

It may seem like a pure form of capitalism merging directly with the government, but really what happens is the government regulates on behalf of the highest bidder, and we end up with a bunch of monopolies controlling the power.

Huge ones are insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, and the like. The biggest scammers of all with the most lawyers... go figure. =P

quote:

Originally posted by Dilmeet to what extent, do you guys think, should politicians listen and/or reject interest groups?

Well it's one of those things where there are positive aspects and negative aspects

Democracy isn't just about one man one vote, it's also about creating a plauralist society where smaller interest groups can have a say in policy even if they are not represented by the government

The major problem is the power of these groups. And by power I mean money. It opens up the whole political system up to massive massive big fuck off corruption. Politicians need to stay in power. Money helps them stay in power. Groups that can help politicians (or political parties more to the point) gain and stay in power tend to have the biggest voices. If there is a plot of land that a mega-rich oil corporation wants to use, but an environmentalist group says will add to pollution for the area, there is an opportunity for mutual back scratching and the environmentalist group will be the one left with an itchy back!

I think all interest groups should have some kind of guarantee to pitch their opinions, present their research to politicians/parties, but if it were up to me election campaigns would be funded by the tax payer (that's gonna go down well with certain people on here, but I will refuse to discuss it on here as it will ruin the thread topic, so if you wanna explanation - start a new thread!) which will also mean it would be illegal to give any money to a political party

Are lobby political contributions transparent down there?

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quote:

Originally posted by Fir3start3r Are lobby political contributions transparent down there?

Well in the UK Labour brought in a law that stated donations above £5,000 ($10,000) had to be declared, and it's fairly hard to conceal them (indeed they have been the victim of their own laws as they've faced investigations for undeclared donations!)

It's a very good law but at the same time, all it means is that if a donor is happy for their name to be public then they still give donations. It does also mean that the public can put two and two together and make assumptions, but it's very difficult to tie the connection between donations and "favours"