Campaign finance refers to the means by which money is raised for political election campaigns. Campaign finance system generally refers to prevailing fundraising practices as well as the laws governing those practices.
It is commonly alleged that campaign finance based on large private or corporate donations may lead to de factocorruption in democratic systems, even though such donations may be legal. Political analysts who value civic participation have observed that the main problem of money in politics should be understood not as illicit quid-pro-quo bribery or even moral corruption of individual public officials, but instead as a conflict of interest that necessarily arises when candidates (and elected public officials) rely on campaign financing from sources whose interests may be inimical to the public interest. Campaign contributions buy access to public officials, and greater access means greater influence. In many states in the United States, concern about the role of money in elections has led to movements for campaign finance reform.
Democratic countries have differing views on what is legal and what types of donations to political parties and campaigns are acceptable. For instance, the United States has a fairly liberal view of campaign contributions, and the campaigns of most prominent American politicians are funded by a variety of sources. Other countries take a more restricted view, for instance making illegal contributions from Australia has taken an even more liberal view, in that the amounts of donations are not limited.
As campaigns have many expenditures, ranging from the cost of travel for the candidate and others to the purchasing of air time for TV advertisements, they often spend a great deal of time and effort raising money to finance their cause.
Campaigncontributions are often provided by lobbyists, corporations, trade unions, and other special interest groups.
For instance, the United States has a fairly liberal view of campaigncontributions, and the campaigns of many American politicians are funded by a variety of sources.
Some examples of political campaigns are: the effort to execute or banish Socrates from Athens in the 5th century BCE, the uprising of petty nobility against John of England in the 13th century, or the recent push to remove Michael Eisner from the helm of The Walt Disney Company.
The ideal of the campaign is for the numbers of people involved, the media presence, the funds available, the hours worked by volunteers and the number of people reached by the message to increase rapidly and to keep increasing until the goal of the campaign is reached.
Political campaigns in the United States are not merely a civic ritual and occasion for political debate, but a multi-billion dollar industry, dominated by professional political consultants using sophisticated campaign management tools, to an extent far greater than elsewhere in the world.
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