ABSTRACT
Public opinion's much-sought-after aspiration to leadership became an ideology, that is, a means of achieving dominance. This ideological dominance could no longer be confined to the outer sphere but extended to the inner, individual sphere, and came to dominate the individual conscience. By claiming to be the supreme public arbiter on the grounds of the primacy of morality over political decision-making, it paved the way for revolution. Since Lippmann's time much water has flowed under the bridge and public opinion has become not only a part of political rhetoric but also a necessary rhetorical tool used by one form of social enquiry, the opinion poll. In a world that has become increasingly complex, only opinion polls now seem able to make sense of the grumblings, anxieties and passions of virtually silent crowds. To invoke public opinion signifies appealing to the people, questioning the basis of constituted authority and proposing a possible, different sovereignty.
