Status Updates From Public Opinion

A NEW IMAGE

In absence of specialized institutions, Common Interest eludes Public Opinion and is managed by a specialized, irresponsible class.

Democratic theory: Trying to control government at the source -> downstream decisions invisible

THE BUYING PUBLIC

Economics of news -> democratic theory demands truth is not earned but given gratis -> newspapers beholden to buying public and advertisers

Problem of figuring out "distinct essential groups of functions"

Uninstructed/uninterested voter.
Two kinds of uninstructed voter: enlightened and unenlightened.Unenlightened uninstructed voters can be gotten to the polls

A scheme would have to be imposed, submitting the scheme to democracy runs into the same issues.
Therefore Guild Socialism isn't a better way of turning self-centered opinion into social judgment.

Critique of G. D. H. Cole's Guild Socialism

Shop democracy subject to external limiting conditions
Management of external relations -> reps carrying out "workers' will" would result in logroll or chaos.

Worker's "will" regarding the industry, nation is limited by access, stereotype and self-interest.

Reps for "some particular function" -> must still deal with larger environment, must conceive of common interest

Congress a group of blind man in a vast world, mosaic of local impressions not enough for national policy.
The President has access to data through agencies.
Congressmen can't understand a fraction of the bills they're voting for.

Rotation in office regarded as a great reform

As a result of democracy implemented in a non-ideal environment, Patronage replaced, rather than dissolved, the federalists with a new governing class. Patronage created stability for the federal government due to weakening local identity and bringing together members of the class.

In practice, offices oscillate between henchmen. Permanent professional politicians.

Constitutional convention worked behind closed doors.

The constitution went back to the British Monarchy for a model. Gentry not strong enough to survive the struggle after Washington.

Jefferson's election "great revolution of 1800"
Attached the symbol of democracy to the constitution and created a great conservative fiction.

Patronage: public office regarded as a type of property, expected to remain in-class

THE ROLE OF FORCE, PATRONAGE AND PRIVILEGE

Maz 1787 - revision of Articles of Confederation in full reaction against premise of 18th century democracy.
The problem was "to restore government as against democracy".

Madison
"Ambition must be made to counteract ambition"

Hamilton favored the gentry for a government, used class privileges to make the Union

Enough for the township -> enough for any purpose

Men formed pictures of outside from pictures in their heads, cultivated by stereotypes nurtured by the community.

No way of gathering info -> democratic theory falls back to wisdom and experience of the voter.
"Only real disagreement could be the judgment of the same facts"
Could assume homogeneous code of morals
Takes supply of information for granted

Jefferson's democratic ideal: ideal environment + selected class

Became political gospel for all politics, not just special environments.
In Jefferson's age, all public opinion was spontaneous and subjective, this had to be considered.
Security seen as necessary for Democracy
Dangerous crises incompatible with
--> efforts to enclose part of the earth's surface: "democratic wars"

Assumed men have equal competence

Democratic philosophers were aware of the limitations of knowledge, found home in remote, unspoiled country villages.

de Tocqueville: doctrine of Popular Sovereignty nurtured in the townships took possession of the State in the American Revolution

Jefferson: These ideal communities must be fenced off from the rest of the world.

THE SELF-CONTAINED COMMUNITY

Ideally just pattern of rights and duties -> everyone obeys then opinions don't matter
All systems assume an established harmony.

Other philosophers took conflict for granted: Machiavelli
Worse name and more disciples than anyone else.

"Men judge more by the eye than by the hand"
People whose vision can't be corrected

Many ideologies agree that the art of government is a natural endowment, disagreement is over who is endowed.
Knowledge of the world was taken for granted.

Facts that could be possessed effortlessly are limited to a small environment in which Democracy can function.
Small ruling class -> this works, entire nation less so

Old theories redate most info technology
Range of attention as basis for political science

THE SELF-CENTERED MAN
Not much science on Public Opinion.

Working out of realistic opinion takes a lot of effort, needs great justification for support.

Every political theory has an inscrutable element going unexamined in its heyday. In Democracy this is Popular Sovereignty.
Assertion of human dignity, which analysis seemed to degrade. Democrats had to insist man is legislator by nature, like Aristotle's slave.

Trying to meet popular feeling while mending fences & consolidating position by addressing an issue or placating a group.

Creation of consent improved tremendously with Democracy, became more scientific.
Intuition and rules of thumb cannot be relied upon, knowledge needed for management of affairs doesn't come up spontaneously from the human heart.

Foreign affairs -> unseen environment

Leaders pretending they uncovered a program existing in the minds of the public
Not news, but news with an aura of suggestion about it

1. Leader vocalizes prevalent attitude of the mass to gather attention & support
2. The policy might have nothing to do with it

Trusted men using accepted symbols go a long way

Good leaders also seek a measure of consent

LEADERS AND THE RANK AND FILE

Leaders cultivate symbols which conserve unity.
Bagehot: "Our royalty is to be reverenced"
Symbol: Mechanism for solidarity & exploitation

Manipulation of masses via symbols often only way for quick mass action.
Often an action would fail if everyone understood it.

Limit of endurance
Indirect effects -> leader has a free hand