Interest group liberalism is Theodore Lowi's term for the clientelism resulting from the broad expansion of public programs in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, including those programs which were part of the " Great Society." Lowi's seminal book, first published in 1969, was titled '' The End of Liberalism'', and presented a critique of the role of

interest groups An interest group or an advocacy group is a body which uses various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and/or policy. Interest group may also refer to: * Learned society * Special interest group, a group of individuals sharin ...

in American government, arguing that "any group representing anything at all, is dealt with and judged according to the political resources it brings to the table and not for the moral or rationalist strength of its interest."Peter J. Woolley, Albert Papa. ''American Politics: Core Argument/Current Controversy'', 2nd ed. (Prentice Hall) 2002. pp. 174. . Lowi's critique stood out in sharp contrast to theories of

pluralism Pluralism denotes a diversity of views or stands rather than a single approach or method. Pluralism or pluralist may refer to: Politics and law * Pluralism (political philosophy), the acknowledgement of a diversity of political systems * Plur ...

, championed by Robert Dahl and others, which argued that

provide competition and a necessary democratic link between people and government.

References

Identity politics Liberalism Political science terminology {{Polisci-stub

See also

References