ABSTRACT
We need to ask ourselves why there is such a gap between the public and its representatives on this, as indeed on other issues. The gap must result from the different perceptions each of them has of where the public interest lies. And those perceptions differ, in part at any rate, because of differences in the quality of the debate and differences in the information available. Raising the quality of public debate, and providing the public with the material on which to
make an informed judgment on matters of public policy are two major requirements if we are to make the government process operate efficiently and responsively.
