The Pluralist view of the state deals primarily with the activities of pressure groups. The term, “pressure group” deals with a very large area, but can be taken to mean any organisation that looks to influence the government’s decision making process. Pressure groups can include large corporations, oil consortiums, environmental groups or even a small group of citizens concerned with a local issue. The basic premise is that a pressure group will bring issues to the government as a neutral decision maker who will evaluate the matter and introduce legislation or economic changes in order to deal with it. As events and social conditions change, new groups will emerge and older groups will lose power, ensuring a continual struggle amongst these different sectors. Pluralism suggests that it is this which is good for demo

Therefore, there would be a strong economic reason for invading Iraq and implementing a regime change in order to gain control of this economic factor, which favours the Marxist view of the state. Personally, I believe that the cause of the war is due to many factors, oil merely being just one of them. Regardless of this, if we look at the situation from the Pluralist view, there are inherent problems. The British government has experienced widespread opposition against going to war. An ICM poll held 6th March 2003 shows that 53% of the electorate believe that the war should be held only with a second resolution from the UN. Also the largest march in British history was held in opposition to the war with over 1 million people demonstrating in London alone, which represents almost 2% of the UK’s population. If the state was swayed by pressure groups alone, these demonstrations of opposition should have far more impact in halting the war. Instead, they have been dismissed by the prime-minister as unrealistic or irrelevant.

Pressure groups can also complement political parties and are normally allied with a specific one, which allows the public to put direct pressure on a political party to give priority to certain issues by joining a pressure group. It can be claimed that pluralism makes government more democratic by keeping representative politicians in check between elections. For example, it can be argued that an election isn’t enough to ensure democracy, as a voter must chose between two parties neither of which may support a policy that is the voter’s priority. An individual can then support the relevant pressure group, adding their voice and using the lobbying system to bring attention to that issue, which should ensure that minority views are heard by decision makers. By this method, pressure groups can aggregate diverse interests and also help to disperse power away from central institutions, ideally giving more power to a wider base.

Instead, the Marxist view shows the economy as an intrinsic part of the state, providing both its drives and motives, in effect replacing pressure groups as the input of the decision making process.

each step of the bourgeoisie was accompanied by a corresponding political advance of that class. ... the bourgeoisie has ... conquered for itself, in the modern representative state, exclusive political sway. The executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.' (Marx & Engels 1967:221)

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