ABSTRACT

On the other hand, and like other problems in intellectual history, diverse ideas of public opinion have developed, especially as its intensive consideration emerged in the last century. Some of these conflicting ideas are very old, while others arise directly from the restatement of social issues in recent times. It is, of course, the more recent conflicting views which must occupy the present-day student of public opinion, though it is also necessary in a more complete interpretation to keep in mind the ancient formulations of the problem of generalized thinking in relation to the exercise of authority in society. If, by the early years of the nineteenth century public opinion had entered the main cur-

rents of political theory, what issues did its emergence raise? With various subdivisions, the focal issues in the theory of

public opinion may be grouped into three classes. First, what is the historical, legal, and social nature of the public or of publics? Second, what is the nature of opinion? Is it something new or is it old? Is it permanent or changing? Is it associated with particular social developments, such as the middle class, mass communication, or urban society? May it be approached through legal, political, and philosophical study, or must it be considered wholly under psychological and sociological theory? Third, what is the quality of opinion? Under what conditions is it effective? What psychological forces govern its formation, and what is its relation to the means of social communication? How does public opinion express value judgments, and is a theory of correct value judgments necessarily a part of the theory of public opinion?