In his famous book Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville was struck with Americans’ “passion for joining.” What major questions accompany the idea that we are a “nation of joiners”? How can these questions be addressed in our study of political science?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

While Americans are socially driven to become members of groups, the major questions that accompany the formation of groups in America are (1) who joins? (2) what does it mean to join? (3) what do people get from joining? and, most importantly, (4) are the opportunities to and the results of joining equally effective for all Americans who participate in groups? The first question can be addressed by looking at the writings of James Madison in Federalist No. 10, where he observed that factions (groups) were dangerous, yet they were an inevitable outcome of the social and political processes. His solution to the problem of factions can be seen in the ideal of plurality, which says that the best way to control the negative effects of groups is to allow for a variety of competing groups (or factions) that would compete for a voice in the political system. In the pluralist theory, everyone is openly and actively encouraged to become a member of a group so as to get the maximum benefit of the group process. But another theory says that regardless of who joins a group, a small elite will actually rise to the top to control any group. This elitist theory says that only certain people, including important businessmen, select governmental leaders, and other resource-wealthy participants will control the group and ultimately impose a form of tyranny over the other group members. There are a variety of groups, and they each appeal to a different base of membership. There are economic interests, which tend to exercise the most power through financial donations to political candidates, but there are also public, labor, and governmental interest groups as well. Each of these tends to attract a specific type of member, who may or may not actively participate after joining. While the maximum group benefit comes from joining and actively participating in a group, people often fail to contribute equally to the group, and this allows for elitism and inequity, which must be addressed.