ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes empirical findings, and presents the consequences of knowledge for the identification and promotion of self-interest. The overall distribution of knowledge is remarkably similar in Japan and the United States. In both Spokane and Shizuoka, the publics are less well informed than are the elites and activists. Moreover, the structure of knowledge--i.e., the relationships among the separate measures of knowledge--is similar in Shizuoka and Spokane. In both Spokane and Shizuoka, knowledge retains its effect on power even after controlling for education and participation. A different pattern emerges in the comparison of the Japanese and American respondents with respect to the role of knowledge in producing political power. The possibility of democracy in the postindustrial age may turn primarily on the question of the educability of the public. One possibility is that the Japanese social structure is more rigid than the American.
