Public opinion is an aggregate of the individual views, attitudes, and beliefs about a particular topic expressed by a significant proportion of a community (14). During the 2000 elections, it was not clear whether the Presidential candidate was elected as a result of public opinion or due to some discrepency in the system.
a generally held attitude toward a particular issue in a community, as in public opinion favored a reform of the health care system. Public opinion, which can be evaluated through public opinion polls, acts as a check on what it is possible for a government to do. For example, public opinion is strongly opposed to the sending of American ground troops to Bosnia, which is one reason such an option has not been seriously considered. The problem with public opinion is that on some issues it can be easily manipulated by the mass media.
The range of views on policy issues held by the citizens of a state.
a belief or sentiment shared by most people; the voice of the people; "he asked for a poll of public opinion"
a weak tyrant compared with our own inner opinion
The consensus view of a population on a topic. public policy A course of action pursued by the government pertaining to people as a whole on which laws rest.
The distribution of people's views on politics and government. Includes ideas and deeply held values, perceptions of current events, and attitudes about particular people and issues.
The prevailing idiocies, delusions, and impossible dreams of the people, collectively.
The attitudes and beliefs communicated by ordinary citizens to decision makers.
Public Opinion is a 1922 book on and democracy by Walter Lippmann. Among other things, it argues that twentieth century advances in the technology of "the manufacture of consent" amounts to "a revolution" in "the practice of democracy" because this allows the control over public opinion about the world and about the public's interests in that world. Control of public opinion is a means to controlling public behavior.
Public Opinion was a television entertainment programme hosted by Gyles Brandreth, and produced by BBC Scotland.
