ABSTRACT
Do government policies tend to follow public opinion? The answer would appear to be yes, to a greater extent than one might think. Policy changes are likely to be in the direction of public opinion. At the state and local level, liberal states and municipalities have the most liberal policies. At the national level, the electorate’s mood as liberal or conservative has an effect, often with delay, on national policies. The backstory is that when policies are out of alignment with public opinion, the policy will change—either via the actions of the voters or via the politicians in reaction to that threat. There is concern about the extent to which the public opinion that gets represented equals the preferences only of the well-to-do versus all opinions equally. The chapter closes with some reasons why the public is less active than it could be in the democratic process and includes some ideas about what could be done about it.
