You are the leader of a student organization working to pass ...

[schs14]

You are the leader of a student organization working to pass federal legislation that would increase financial aid to college students.
 
  What specific strategies could you employ to overcome the free rider/collective action problem in order to build your organization and increase your political clout?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Describe how critics of pluralist theory view the role of interest groups today.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[morrie123456]

Answer to Question 1

An ideal response will:
1, Describe the free rider problem as a situation in which individuals can benefit from the group effort without having to contribute to it. As a result, individuals have no incentive to join the group.
2, Identify what kinds of individuals would be likely to free ride in this case: college students who receive or are eligible to receive financial aid.
3, Explain one or more tactics that could be used to convince these students to join the organization. To overcome the free rider problem, the group must offer some kind of incentivematerial or otherwisethat is given only to group members.

Answer to Question 2

An ideal response will:
1, Discuss how America's political system is resistant to change. Change is very difficult, there are numerous points to stop change from occurring, and the status quo is often preserved.
2, Discuss how political resources are not distributed equally, undermining the pluralist argument. For example, some people face barriers to joining groups. Effective organizations require resources, something that poor people and groups lack. Thus, there is a bias in favor of the wealthy and the upper class.
3, Discuss how many issues may not make it on the agenda. Poverty is often excluded from the agenda. Nondecisions can keep items off of the agenda.
4, Discuss the idea that groups do not automatically form. Groups do not always form as a result of a disturbance as pluralists contend. Many groups have trouble overcoming collective action problems.
5, Discuss how all of the above undermine the pluralist arguments.