ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book identifies that public opinion is a psychological, sociological, economic, and political phenomenon all at the same time. Public opinion formation takes place constantly as people react to the world around them. The book focuses on the relationship between public opinion and the nature of American government and policymaking in different areas. All of these linkages–between people and media, among people, and between people and their leaders–are critical to understanding the role of public opinion in American democracy. It is a challenge to think about the nature of public opinion and how it changes, but it is also one of the most important and exciting phenomena in democratic theory to study. Technologies for public-opinion-related processes and expression matter very much in any historical period.
