Public Opinion — Chapter XX A New Image

1. 1. In the absence of institutions that report the environment successfully, public opinion largely eludes common interests, which can only be managed by a specialized class.
2. 2. Democratic theory fails because it assumes self-centered opinions are sufficient for good government, leading to perpetual conflict between theory and practice.
3. 3. The democratic fallacy is preoccupation with the origin of government rather than processes and results.
4. 4. Trying to control government wholly at the source makes all vital decisions invisible, as no instinct produces good political decisions and power is exercised according to hidden opinions.
5. 5. Democratic faith in human dignity can be renewed by associating it with the whole personality rather than just self-government.
6. 6. There is no prospect that the whole invisible environment will become clear to all men, so social control depends on devising standards of living and methods of audit.