The Voice Of The People : Public Opinion And Democracy

The Voice of the People : Public Opinion and Democracy

By JAMES S. FISHKIN (Author)

ISBN 9780300072556

Pages 256

Year 1997

Edition 1

Publisher YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Subject POLITICAL SCIENCE

~~₹ 3960.00~~ ₹ 1584.00

Description

Ours is an era of stunted public discourse, where instant polls, 900 numbers, orchestrated petitions, and talk-show campaigning appear to have overwhelmed participatory democracy. What has become of the freely reasoned public debate and informed "consent of the governed" that, as cherished principle, we hold will produce better leaders and better public decisions? Where—or what—is the voice of the people todoay?

In this lively book James Fishkin evaluates modern democratic practices and explains how the voice of the people has struggled to make itself heard in the past. He tells a fascinating story of changing concepts and parctices of democracy, with examples that range from ancient Sparta to America's founders to the first Gallup polls to Ross Perot. He then develops the rationale for a new method—the "deliberative opinion poll"—that uses modern media and survey research to legitimately rediscover the people's voice.

Fishkin's proposal for televised deliberative opinion polls has already been realized twice by the British television network Channel 4, and he discusses its implementation in the book. In January 1996, his deliberative poll will be seen in action in a "National Issues Convention" to be broadcast by PBS on the eve of the American presidential primary season. During this broadcast, a national random sample of citizens will interact with presidential contenders in order to reflect and vote on the issues and candidates. Fishkin discusses the pros and cons of this important event, giving behind-the-scenes details about preparations for it.

Here then is a compelling story of citizen deliberation from ancient Athens to the present, setting the context for future deliberative polls and related efforts to reinvigorate our public dialogue.

About Author(s)

James S. Fishkin holds the Darrell K. Royal Regents Chair in Government, Law, and Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is also chair of the Department of Government. The most recent of his many books include Democracy and Deliberation and The Dialogue of Justice, both published by Yale University Press.

Content

1 INTRODUCTION
Magic Town
Who Speaks for Me?
Out of the Cave?
2 WHO SPEAKS FOR THE PEOPLE?
New Beginnings
A Voice from Rhode Island
What Should Representatives Do?
The Most Natural and Simple Idea
Counting People Equally
Deliberation: Thinking Through the Issues Together
Participation
Avoiding Tyranny: The Energy That Reforges Democracy
Small-Scale Democracy
The Founders’ Vision
The Anti-Federalist Dissent
3 HOW “PUBLIC OPINION” BECOME THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
 “Like a Burglar”: Information Processes of Reform
Bryce’s Prophecy: Governments by Public Opinion
Gallup’s Answer
Opinions and Pseudo-Opinions in the Echo Chamber
A Rational Public?
The American Process: A Machine That Transforms Itself
4 WHO ARE THE PEOPLE?
Whose Declaration of Independence?
All Men? From Douglass to Lincoln versus Douglas
From Paper Rights to Voting Rights
The Quest for Voting Equality
The Declaration of Sentiments
Whose America? How Do We Come to Support It?
5 GIVING THE PEOPLE VOICE
America’s Town Meeting of the Air
Toward Civic Engagement
Airing the People’s Agenda
The Deliberative Poll: Bringing Deliberation to Democracy
AFTERWORD
The National Issues Convention and Beyond
APPENDIX A
The First Deliberative Poll: Summary of Results
APPENDIX B
Who Came? Some Comparisons of Weekend Sample to Entire Baseline Survey
APPENDIX C
Comparison of Sample Delegates with U.S. Census Data
APPENDIX D
Eight Deliberative Polls, 1994-97:
How Participants Change (Selected Results)
APPENDIX E
Do the Change Last? British Deliberative Poll on Crime
APPENDIX F
How Participants Evaluated the Process at the NIC
APPENDIX G
National Issues Convention Committees and Advisory Board
NOTES
INDEX

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