Public Opinion and Democratic Despotism
Edited transcript of the Eidelberg Report, Israel National Radio, June 25, 2007.
A waggish commentator defined opinion polls as foolish persons asking stupid questions of ignorant people. Nevertheless, it’s commonly believed that a country is democratic if public opinion more or less influences the government’s laws and policies. But what in all seriousness is “public opinion”?
A democracy can manifest four types of public opinion. I shall relate each type to Israel to see whether Israel is really a democracy, as its ruling elites would have us believe.
The first and most familiar type of public opinion is “media-generated” or “statistical” public opinion. (more…)
Comments Off
