Explain the importance of Public Opinion in a democracy
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Why is public opinion important in a democracy?
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Kapokkid eNotes educator
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I would answer just slightly differently from the previous post. The people are not, in my mind, the ultimate source of power, but it is important to maintain that illusioni. Ideally of course, in a democracy the people vote to decide their future, but in the case of a representative democracy, like ours with its party system dominated by just two parties, public opinion is more important when it comes to the perception of things rather than actually informing policy decisions, etc.
So political parties must maintain a certain level of positive public opinion but it can be relatively well manipulated through the media and other sources and used to maintain the status quo and allow the representatives to make decisions based on their interests.
Around election time it becomes vital of course, but again, manipulation through the media and various other methods counts for more than any kind of referenda or real reference to public opinion.