The Guidance of Public Opinion

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THE GUIDANCE OF PUBLIC OPINION. THE fact that there is a widespread belief that the rulingpower in public affairs, as well as in social life, is public opinion,makes it desirable that the nature of public opinion itself-howit is constituted, who forms it, the way in which its influence ismanifested, the ways in which it may be guided-becarefullystudied. Perhaps in no other country in the world is so muchemphasis laid upon public opinion as in the United States-noteven in Switzerland. There, though in many of the cantons thepeople themselves directly make their own laws in popular meet-ing, or by general vote, they still are guided in great part bythe executive or by the legislative assembly, that drafts billsand presents them to the people for their approval. It is theassumption there that the body which drafts the laws, as theservant of the people, is acting in the people's interests, and thepeople are strongly inclined to accept its advice. Ordinarilythe same men serve year after year in the legislature; andthe executive officers frequently remain the same almostthroughout a generation. These men largely guide, and the peo-ple follow. It is expected that minority parties will be repre-sented on executive boards, and the defeat of a minister's plansis no reason for his resignation, as in England and France. In the United States, on the other hand, it has not been cus-tomary for the people to trust their representatives and officials socompletely; and the officials on their part increase this distrustby encouraging the people to believe in their own wisdom. It ispractically always assumed here in a public discussion that when-ever the people express themselves on any question they areright. The people cannot make a mistake. Another theory of like import, but perhaps more nearly true,is that whenever the people have clearly expressed their opinionon any subject,
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