Public opinion can influence public policy, as revealed by the example of the unfolding of the Bosnian intervention .
Public opinion has an important place in democratic societies because of the idea that democratic government springs from the will of the people.
Public opinion is seldom fixed when it comes to questions about how to resolve policy problems, giving political leaders some leeway in deciding a course of action.
The public may hold political leaders accountable for results of policy, but the action itself is often left to the political leaders to choose.
The concept of public opinion refers to those opinions held by ordinary citizens that they are willing to express openly.
Most citizens possess a relatively low level of political information, which restricts the role it can play in policy disputes.
Public opinion can direct government toward certain goals, but it rarely provides a detailed guide to the way these goals are to be accomplished.
Public opinion is measured through polling, based on interviews with a sample of the population chosen at random to replicate the views of the larger population they represent. The accuracy of a poll is expressed in terms of sampling error.
Both probability and nonprobability samples are used in opinion polling. Probability samples are generally more accurate, though any poll can contain erors and be misleading if poorly conducted.
Political Socialization: How Americans Learn Their Politics
The learning process by which people acquire their opinions, beliefs, and values is called political socialization. Socialization is a lifelong process.
The primacy principle refers to the fact that what is learned first is often lodged most firmly in one's mind.
The structuring principle refers to the tendency of earlier learning to structure later learning.
Dramatic political transformation, when it occurs, is based on the age-cohort tendency which holds that a significant break in the pattern of political socialization is almost always concentrated among younger citizens.
The most important agents of political socialization are:
The family--most children tend to accept uncritically the political attitudes of their parents. American values such as equality, individualism and personal freedom have their roots in patterns of family interaction. Family influences can be disrupted by a critical historical event.
Primary and secondary schools--they reinforce general values and instill positive attitudes about American history and politics.
Peers--including friends, neighbors and co-workers, who generally reinforce existing beliefs.
The mass media--especially the electronic media through regular programming and news coverage affects people's political perceptions.
Political leaders and institutions--serve as guides to opinion through their ability to shape political debate and opinion through the symbols and slogans they use.
Churches and religion are important sources of politically relevant attitudes.
Frames of Reference: How Americans Think Politically
The way citizens think politically provides clues about the way public opinion is likely to affect government. A shared frame of reference can bring citizens together in the pursuit of a common goal.
Four major frames of reference through which Americans evaluate political alternatives are examined in this chapter.
Cultural thinking whereby Americans are committed to a common set of ideals such as individualism, equality and self-government tends to unite people and serve to define the boundaries of acceptable political action and opinion.
Ideological thinking tends to produce differences of opinion among people. While only a small portion of the American population adheres to ideological frameworks for guides to their thinking, ideology is useful to analysts when describing people's views.
America's population can be divided into four ideological types based on responses to two questions. The first relates to whether they support or oppose an activist role for government in determining the distribution of economic benefits in society, and the second relates to whether they support or oppose activist government as a means of promoting a particular set of social values. Nearly half of Americans describe themselves as moderates, with a great many of the remainder describing themselves as conservatives.
Conservatives are defined as individuals who emphasize the marketplace as the means of distributing economic benefits but look to government to uphold traditional social values.
Liberals favor activist government as an instrument of economic redistribution but reject the notion that government should favor a particular set of social values.
Populists are defined as individuals who share with conservatives a concern for traditional values, but favor an active role for government in providing economic security.
Libertarians are opposed to government intervention in both the economic and social spheres.
The third frame of reference is group thinking. Most Americans see politics through the lens of a group to which they belong or with which they identify. Useful group identifications include religion, economic class, region of the nation, race, gender and age.
Today, Catholics, Protestants and Jews share similar opinions on most policy issues. The religious right has become more politically active, especially in urging government to define and enforce religious and moral values.
Economic class has less influence on political opinion in the U.S. than in Europe, but is related to differences among Americans in opinions on social welfare programs, business regulation and progressive taxation.
Region has declined as a basis for political opinions, but regional differences persist in the areas of social welfare, civil rights and national defense.
Race is a significant source of opinion differences, especially on issues of affirmative action, crime, busing and other measures designed to promote racial equality and integration.
Gender differences are apparent on issues of social welfare and use of force by the state, with women favoring the former and being more opposed to the latter.
Age may become a more important factor, especially since the elderly vote at a higher rate than young people. The elderly tend to support social security and Medicare while opposing increases in public school funding.
The fourth frame of reference is partisan thinking. Partisan differences highlight a person's ingrained sense of loyalty to a political party. People seldom abandon their party preference, yet can diverge from rigid party positions on issues and candidates of the moment. While about 70 percent of the public relate to either the Democratic or Republican parties, a growing portion of the population considers itself independent.
The Influence of Public Opinion on Policy
Public opinion does serve as a guiding force in public policy. The Page and Shapiro study concluded that more often than not, policy changed in response to opinion rather than the reverse.
It is difficult to substantiate that the majority prevails on public issues.
Politics includes a battle over the control of public opinion.
People's views are neither fixed nor simply a product of personal circumstances.
Public opinion is dynamic and can be changed, activated and crystallized through political action.
