These shareholders in the military-industrial complex influence the government in various ways. These companies that produce war weapons or equipment can attach themselves to the central government and the department of defense. These individuals provide enormous amounts of money to various candidates in the congress or have a large number of lobbyists advocating for more contracts in the defense industry. Another influence from the military-industrial complex idea emerges from various political individuals who decide to work for the defense contractors when they leave office. The effect of this is a conflict of interest in the government that negatively affects the common American taxpayer. Continuous war is beneficial to the shareholders in military-industrial complex. They use their position to offer support to individuals who can serve their best interest by favoring a foreign policy that is aggressive. This enables them to influence a conflict that the government pays by engaging in wars overseas (Singer, 2003).
The Influence of Fourth Estate to the Government
The fourth estate is a term that refers to the press. This is an expression of the fact that parliament and other government houses have an area for press briefings, and the press is a group that forms the larger realm. The fourth estate plays a crucial role in the society ensuring that the members of the public are aware of crucial issues affecting them. They play this role by reporting on the various topics, and establishing individuals who the society will depend for awareness of information (Overholser and Jamieson, 2005).
Because of the level of significance of the press in the society, individuals in the fourth estate adhere to personal and professional ethics of conduct. The fourth estate exercises a culture of neutrality, and focus on the issues they are reporting to enable the public an opportunity to judge the information...
The fourth estate practice integrity, protect the source of information, conduct verification of the information prior to release, and utilize various methods and technique to preserve the trust and faith of the press (Overholser and Jamieson, 2005). The fundamental roles of the fourth estate in influencing the government are through three roles namely remaining independent from government control, scrutinizing the government's activities, and offering an opportunity for members of the public to establish a public debate (Archer and Jarvis, 1996).
By ensuring that the fourth estate is independent of control by the government, the press ensures that the government does not censor political information. This enables the public to receive information that does not contain bias because of a political influence. Scrutinizing the government makes it possible for the press to inform the public about the activities that the government is engaging in (Archer and Jarvis, 1996).
This holds the politicians responsible for any corruption case or any other scandal. After the public is aware, people can establish an arena for debating the activities of the government. The methods of response the public can use include demonstrating, boycotts, radio show discussion, opinion polls, and voting (Overholser and Jamieson, 2005).
Reference
Archer, J., & Jarvis, M. (1996). The Fourth Estate. New York, NY: Harper Audio.
Hunt, E.F., & Colander, D.C. (2011). Social science: An introduction to the study of society, fourteenth edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Lewis, T.T. (2002). The Bill of Rights. Pasadena, Calif: Salem Press.
Overholser, G., & Jamieson, K.H. (2005). The press. New York: Oxford University Press.
Singer, P.W. (2003). Corporate warriors: The rise of the privatized military industry. Ithaca:
