The role of conflict in the political system depends, first, on the morale, self-confidence and security of the individuals and groups who must chall… - Elmer Eric Schattschneider

The power of pressure groups tends to evaporate when it is translated into other dimensions of politics because the calculus of party politics is entirely different from the calculus of pressure politics. Numbers are everything in one dimension and very little in the other. We are dealing with two different strategies of politics and two different concepts of political organization. Moreover, the end product of party politics is inevitably different from that of pressure politics. Inevitably some people prefer one game to the other.

Since it is not easy to move special-interest groups from one party camp into the other, is it not better party strategy to try to capitalize on the public hostility toward many of these groups than it is to woo them?

People who do not know what government is are not likely to know what democracy is either, for democracy is only what the soft inside of the oyster looks like.