#  Critical Review Article Now Available as Free E-Print 

 





August 19, 2013

 

 

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SHOULD THE MASS PUBLIC FOLLOW ELITE OPINION? IT DEPENDS . . .

ABSTRACT: John Zaller’s finding that members of the public usually follow  
elites’ cues may seem normatively disturbing. If true, it might be taken to obviate  
the need for democracy or to show that elites are manipulating the public.  
However, as long as the public sometimes fails to follow elites, we can judge cases  
of public followership according to independent criteria, such as whether the  
public’s occasional rebellions against elite opinion further liberal-democratic or  
utilitarian purposes. A review of some prominent cases of mass followership of and  
mass divergence from elite opinion suggests that public opinion that is independent  
of elite leadership is neither an unmitigated good nor an unmitigated problem for a  
well-ordered polity.

Those who click on this link will be taken directly to the full-text version of the article: [http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ttnibQq9zkfiDewesb83/full](https://icemail.harvard.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=0jQ-Z9ya_UyZQ9vxDzeAf3O6BhbOcNAIqsj7uXzpHSrG-ouMFF3OXYf9LC1pK7Zp69uveLOS3no.&URL=http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ttnibQq9zkfiDewesb83/full)  
 

 

 

 



 

 

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