Reflections on the Role of the Public in the Political Sphere and the Beginnings of Public Opinion Polling
Abstract
This article focuses on discussions about the role of the public in the political sphere presented in the writings of philosophers and scholars examining public opinion and American democracy during the 19th and early 20th century, as well as on the political and social context that significantly influenced the beginnings of public opinion polling. In the 1930s, public opinion polls were introduced in response to the need to measure public sentiments that mainly emerged from discussions about the role of the public in American democratic governance and modern society, which were based on the European philosophical tradition and contradictory thoughts about the role of the people in the political sphere traceable to Antiquity.
Gallup and other early practitioners of public opinion polling believed that polls were a tool that could significantly enhance American democracy; however, both the methodology and concept of public opinion polling have been heavily criticized since the introduction of polls. The link between the beginnings of polling and the discussions about the contours of American democracy was neglected for quite a long time.