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Public opinion is officially defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as the prevalent views of the general public. It is the summation of all the combined individual beliefs, perceptions, and dispositions of the people making up a specific population, usually all adults of a geographic location. Public opinion is a complex collection of every such individual opinion so that it can be analysed to determine a prevailing attitude towards any specific subject or question.
Determining Public Opinion
Legitimate sources reporting on public opinion so as to answer specific questions seek to determine public opinion through scientific and statistical means. Four general means of obtaining public opinion are primarily used:
- Quantitative statistical surveys of personal opinions
- Analysis of the relationships between individual opinions as revealed by statistical surveys
- Analysis of the role of individual opinions brought together in formation of public opinion
- Analysis of opinions as disseminated from various media, including newspapers, periodicals, television, radio, and the Internet.
Public Opinion Theory
The modern sociologic concept of public opinion began in the 18th century in Britain. However, the term derives from a French phrase, l’opinion publique, with an origin dating back to 1588. In the intervening years, Europe went through the Renaissance and with it a great leap in urbanisation. At the same time, politics changed dramatically with democracies, elected republics, and constitutional monarchies springing up, the opinions of the citizens and the general populace began to hold meaning and importance.
One of the first philosophers to develop theories on and disseminate the meaning of public opinion was Jeremy Bentham. His theories were the most well-developed at the time. Among these theories was that public opinion could determine which governmental leaders could produce the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. This was a definite utilitarian approach to public opinion.
Another to expound on public opinion was the classical economist Adam Smith. In his work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, from 1759, he referred to the importance of public opinion in social passions and the public opinion of customs and fashion on general morality.
In the early 20th century, Ferdinand Tonnies, a prominent German sociologist, developed a theory called Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft, translated into English as Community and Society, which stated that public opinion in society has the precise function of religion in smaller communities.
Jugen Habermas, a philosopher from Germany also helped to define modern public opinion by developing the idea of Offentichkeit, or the public sphere, as a place where public opinion is formed, debated, and distributed. According to Habermas, the public sphere was free, open, and had no regard for personal social status. He went on to state that in absence of a true public sphere, democracies were susceptible to corruption and manipulation.
Herbert Blumer, a U.S. sociologist, conceived of a different definition for the public in reference to public opinion. He stated that the public is an amorphous entity, and there is an infinite amount of publics depending on the individuals discussing a specific issue at a specific time. Since it is individual opinions that make up public opinion, only participating individuals can be deemed a part of the public when it concerns public opinion. Thus, public opinion polling can never truly gauge the opinions of the public as an unchanging whole, but only of the public who participated in the polling. Blumer also argued that some individuals’ opinions carried more weight than others. For instance, the opinion of an educated scholar means more than that of an uneducated drunkard.
Another theory of public opinion as it pertains to politics and the behaviour of voters states that public opinion is derived not only through individuals, but through special interest groups. Public opinion, as a whole, comes from three sources:
- Leaders of the public and great thinkers
- The educated
- The common people
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