ABSTRACT
Long-term opinion formation is of great significance in a representative democracy. Our discussion of dynamic representation in Chapter 5 dealt with the scope for long-term political leadership in regard to specific policy issues. The lack of policy congruence at any given time can be defended with the claim that citizens will eventually adopt the opinions of the elite. Another and equally important aspect of long-term opinion formation has to do with agenda-building, i.e., determining which issues will be discussed in the politics of tomorrow. Anyone who can define the future in this sense truly possesses power. If, then, we can identify the forces influencing the long-term agenda, we will be able to say something important about how the representative system works.
