Definition
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or
beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the
complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all
their views.
The principle approaches to the
study of public opinion may be divided into 4 categories:
i.
Quantitative
measurement of opinion distributions;
ii.
Investigation
of the internal relationships among the individual opinions that make up public
opinion on an issue;
iii.
Description
or analysis of the public role of public opinion;
iv.
Study
both of the communication media that disseminate the ideas on which opinions
are based and of the uses that propagandist and other manipulators make of
these media.
1.
MEDIA
Mass
media content created for newsworthy events and those stories that are not told
all have Television broadcasting has a large amount of control over the content
society watches and the times in which it is viewed. This is a distinguishing
feature of traditional media which new media have challenged by altering the
participation habits of the public. The internet creates a space for more
diverse political opinions, social and cultural viewpoints and a heightened
level of consumer participation. There have been suggestions that allowing
consumers to produce information through the internet will lead to an overload
of information.
2.
Evolution
When
people realized that their work and every day decision making can have a effect
on other people as well than the concept of public opinion evolved.
3.
Press
Democracy at Work
The print media includes newspaper, periodicals,
pamphlets, journals, leaflets etc. Press or print media supplies the news
regarding all political and social happenings in the world. It throws a flood
of light on current issues. In fact press is regarded as the watchdog of democracy
by carrying the voice of the public to the government. People express their criticism
or support in the form of articles, or comments through press. Hence, make the
government responsible and answerable. In fact, government also propagates its
policies and programmes through media. It tries to highlight its achievements
to make public opinion in its favour.
4.
Radio
and Television
Electronic media i.e. radio and televisions act as a
mirror of social life. Print media influences only the educated. The electronic
media plays an important part in collecting the information and moulding the
thoughts of the uneducated masses also. The audio-visual media is used as a
powerful means for bringing about social transformation and setting up a new
social order free from social evils. It is used to educate the masses on
certain sensitive issues like casteism, communalism violence etc. Through radio
and television masses communicate their feelings and opinions towards various
government policies and programmes.
5.
Political
parties and their activities
Political parties formulate and organize public
opinion. They are called mobilisers of opinion. Political parties not only make
the people aware of various public issues. Their purpose is to make the people
politically conscious to think about public problems. Political parties publish
journals, pamphlets, leaflets, manifestoes, posters etc. to mould the public
opinion in their favour.
6.
Educational
Institutions
They include schools, colleges, literary clubs,
study circles, universities and libraries etc. They can mould public opinion to
a great extent. The adolescents get easily swayed by the opinion of others.
Therefore the right kind of training is very important for this age group. Eminent
leaders, scholars and educationists help in moulding their leadership qualities
and help in creating public opinion through Debates, Talks, Seminars etc.
Various co-curricular activities like Drama, Symposium, Painting/Slogan writing
competition etc. also prove very effective in sensitizing the students on
important national and international issues. There are certain limitations on
the use of public opinion. It is believed that the public takes interest in
local and national affairs. The public is reasonably well informed. The public thinks,
with reason and logic and arrives at the rational conclusion. The opinion of
the public is expressed through the elections/polls. Public opinion always
keeps the government on its toes and the alert government makes the laws based
on social and moral principles expressed by it. Public opinion is the voice of
interested spectators of action. Public opinion reflects the plurality and
diversity of opinions. Sometimes it is taken very casually. It is more a matter
of interpretation. Fault does not lie with the opinion but with the
interpretation. At times, sample may also not be appropriate. In modern mass
societies people read, listen and see so much that it is not always easy for
them to sift facts from fiction. Hence, it poses a great challenge to people to
make intelligent discrimination of news and views. However, the fact remains
that public opinion is very effective means of communication between the
government and the citizens.
7.
8.
Legislature:
Legislature in every democratic country is a forum for expression of
political ideas. Debates and discussions arc held in the legislature. An
account of these debates is published in the newspapers.
People read them with great interest
and thus they are acquainted with all the aspects of political life.
Significance
Public opinion is considered to be the
essential element for successful working of democratic communication in the
system. Public Opinion is the expression of the views of citizens. No government
can afford to ignore it. A sound and effective public opinion can even shake
the structures of dictators. The strength of democratic system lies in
respecting the mind power of the people. There should be free and fair
interaction of thoughts for solving the collective problems. Public opinion
acquires great relevance in realising this democratic goal. It promotes wider
awareness and invites citizens to examine issues from different points of view.
The significance and role of public opinion can be explained as follows:
(A) Guide to the Government: Public opinion acts as the
guide to the government in respect of policy formation. Government functions in
general on the basis of mandate received in elections and tries to win over the
masses to fulfil the promises made during elections.
(B) Helping in Law Making: Government is always under
pressure of public opinion and takes note of the same in formulating laws for
the common good. Governmental policies are invariably affected by people’s
opinion on various issues. Public opinion helps the government to enact laws in
the given situation.
(C) Acts as a Watchdog: Public opinion acts as a
watchdog. It controls and checks the government from becoming irresponsible.
While criticizing the wrong policies of the government, public opinion always
keeps the government alert. Government is always conscious of the fact that
people would not vote for it or bring it back to power again if it goes against
the wishes of the people.
(D) Protects the Rights & Liberties:
Public
opinion acts as the protector of rights and liberties of citizens. In a
democratic country, people have the right to criticize or support the
government in their own way. More effective and positive use of this right not
only encourages or motivates the government but also keeps the government alive
towards the rights and liberties of the people.
(E) Acts as a Powerful Force in
International Sphere: - Public opinion has acquired worldwide importance. In fact,
international relations are influenced by public opinion. In the age of
globalization, the issues like promotion and protection of human rights,
environment and discrimination based on race, religion or sex, prevention of
child labour, terrorism etc. hold international community answerable to public
opinion. Therefore, the governments remain conscious of such international
public opinion also. In fact, no democratic government can afford to ignore
public opinion.
Problems:
1.
Elite Transfer:-
Ruling class always belong
to upper class. Majority of the positions formed in this class. This is the
class which has a luxurious life and got high education, hats why they are far
away from the problems of lower class and can’t hear the necessities of common
people. For instance in subcontinent all countries have a role of passing ones
leader ship to next generation.
2. Lack of honesty:-
Honest and sound public
opinion is one of the major problems of Pakistan
So, it is very important
that people should be awarded of the current scenario and political situations
with trends in system by which they are being ruled upon. By this method people
will take parts in polls and surveys regarding people opinion. An effective and
sound public opinion will then require both people’s contribution, that is
their due duty upon state, and honesty, which is the fundamental requisite for
true leader ship. For instance America
3.
Illiteracy:-
A literate state can achieve high
goals for the progress of their country. Only through high literacy rate
nations can make their moral high. According to Pakistani commission 57% people
(who can read or write his name) are literate .this is not enough percentage
for the progress of a country but only 23% people who are well educated and can
underline the problems of a common man, which is very low from the bottom line.
In such condition public opinion become ineffective
4.
Collection:-
The major problem is the
procedure to collect data. It requires a lot of physical effort and also extra
usage of budget. One procedure is to make samples in which sample of an area or
field has taken and make analysis of public opinion. In second procedure
analyst ask person to person to get exact figures
In first procedure the
data can be mishandle e.g. thousand people are working in a factory, to get a
public opinion analyst picked up 100 people
from total and if 5 or 6 persons not gives their opinion it will cause a
lack of sample and if the underline people’s opinion doesn’t match with other
people will be false data. And the data picking up by different fields like
class, work, nature etc It will be a highly charge procedure
In second procedure it is
very difficult to ask one by one from every person. It causes high expanses.
Public opinion is too much
costly like in our country (Pakistan
5.
Media as white elephant:-
Media is forth pillar of
democratic government. It is playing vital role through which every person
aware with common and important news on daily bases. Different is considered an
authentic source of information. Different talk shows and opinion programs are
held to aware common people with burning news and sometimes unimportant issues
highlighted by them. For
example issue of dengue became very popular in last days because of media
intention; media helped by giving every person awareness but also frighten to
them by the daises.
6. Supporting
ones view point:-
A
person who claims a party or an individual better than others and supports
particular party/individual vice versa but can’t prove it for instance people
are not well known about historical movements and make their concepts according
to the limited knowledge. As in the previous election after the death of
Benazir Bhutto PPP was succeeded to role in federal. The survey was held by
different media channels to know about vote casting in the favor of PPP and
most of the public said JUST BECAUSE OF THE DEATH OF BHUTTO AND HIS DAUGHTER
MARTERYARD…so this type of irrelevant arguments are given by public.
Requirements of an effective public opinion
The effectiveness
and weightage of a sound public opinion is dependent upon the very
participation of common people in politics. It has been statistically observed
that a lot of people don’t take interest in political happenings around them or
in their nation, others who do, lack exact and accurate information. In
developed countries like U.S and U.K, the government and some non-governmental
organisations conduct regular public opinion measurements, often through public
polls and other techniques. This exercise makes people aware of the current
issues also with benefiting the present governing body by public opinion about
them and some issues.
The
presence of an effective public opinion is most important for a developing
country like Pakistan where democracy is starting to live now. It is difficult
to discover the different trends in our society and even more difficult to dig
out public opinion from such society. Very few people come on the merit to give
an effective public opinion. Those who give such opinions are the victims of
prejudices and biased opinion on account of wrong, invalid or bad
information/experience. The concept of public opinion is generally criticised
on the grounds that is always reflect the opinion of few political leaders, and
that at its initial stages, it always aims at protecting the vested interests.
It is given so wider publicity through the effective use of propaganda
machinery that common people are also mobilised, thereby opinion of an elite
class is transformed into public opinion. Common people do not enough time or
knowledge and information to develop independent opinion.
Only
such an opinion can be called effective or sound public opinion that fulfils
the following requirements:-
1. Freedom
of expression:-
Better decisions
can be arrived at in an atmosphere of free deliberations. Freedom of expression
is an essential prerequisite regarding the formation of an effective public
opinion. Not following the way of power and letting common people say what they
want to can prove a lot better for both the government and people. Free
discussion also helps the government in keeping itself better informed about
their mistakes and what people want and also about the trends in public
opinion. Frequency in the flow of information helps a government in the
performance of its feedback functions.
2. Vigilance:-
Eternal
vigilance and interest in political affairs is an essential requirement of a
sound and effective public opinion. An ignorant person is incapable of
understanding the difficult issues involved in public policy or policy making.
The people are expected to be conscious enough to understand important
political problems and issues relating to both, internal as well as
international affairs.
3. Freedom
of press and public publications:-
Freedom of media and press publications is another
important requisite of an effective and sound public opinion. Flow of
information is necessary to the formation of this opinion. In case undue
restraints and banns over media and publications, rumours will always have
their way up. The wrongdoers may take advantage of such situation, hence can
misguide public by wrong information, such as to affect the public view. It is
however necessary that positive steps should be taken in order to eliminate the
vested interests on media and replace them with upright and just persons.
4. Tolerance:-
Freedom of expression and freedom of media and press
publications cannot always ensure the true formation of a sound public opinion
if people are not tolerant enough to listen to the opposite point of view. The
threat to liberty comes from an intolerant majority that oppress and regiment
minorities by virtue of its numerical strength. In like manner, sound opinion
can’t develop in case a minority is intolerant to the verdict of the majority.
5. National
integration:-
A group of
people held by fraternal feelings can develop sound opinion because they all
think for the betterment of their country and nation. It is essential that they
should not indulge in parochial prejudices. General consensus on important
regime norms and on basic ideological principles is imperative for sound public
opinion.
Our society
During
the research on voting behaviour, it was found that the values of people have
deep bearing on their actions and thoughts, irrespective of the advancements
they have made. The clever politicians try to exploit this aspect of the social
life during elections and use attractive slogans. Some even use religion as a
tool for political victory. Undoubtedly, the cultural legacy of a people sets
targets of politics and determines the tone of collective life.
The
people of Pakistan also pay due heed to their cultural heritage. In order to
appraise the trends of public opinion of this region, the Muslims cultural
legacy will have to be taken into consideration. No party in Pakistan can
afford to violate the basic values and beliefs that underlie the ideology of
this country. Even the secular parties, in order to legitimise their role, had
to mould their programmes and policies in this direction. Pakistan has faced a
lot of problems since its independence; merely a system of democracy has
worked. So the changing scenario always affects the public opinion and the
insecurity of the system. Or we can say that the system of governance is not
that safe. Opinion of the common people depends upon the system by what they
are being ruled. In Pakistan we can say that as democracy has been attacked by
some people as is public opinion been. Problems such as elite transfer and
opinion leaders hinder the way people think about the present government or the
residing issues.
Despite
the cultural legacy on the lifestyle of a society, the values and belief system
itself is not stagnant, as it is affected by the changing trends of public
opinion. The economic changes and technological advancements have, of course,
shaped such trends. Due tremendous developments in the field of communication
and transportation, the interaction between the nations has been broadened.
Consequently, mutual diffusion of cultures has given rise to new trends and
promoted new values in every society. Development in mutual relationship and
ever increasing dependence of societies, have fostered new beliefs and modes of
thinking and replaced some outdated norms. Nevertheless, the dimension of this
conflict between traditionalism and modernism has been varying from society to
society and from region to region.
Improvements done in the method of
measurement
Effectiveness
of public opinion in a democratic system is dependent upon the fact as how far
it has been successful in shaping public policy. It has been an important
problem for a representative government, to keep itself well-informed about the
trends of public opinion. Following are the major improvements in the area of
measuring the public opinion:
1. Modern
method and private polls:-
Lot of improvements took place regarding the
perfection of technique in the measurement of public opinion. As a matter of
fact, many such techniques had been in use since long in business and
commercial activities. But these were imitated and began to be used in politics
from 1936 onward. By this time, different other agencies, other than the news
paper, also got involved in conducting opinion polls.
Apart from the involvement of certain agencies and
institutions in the conduct of opinion polls, sometimes candidates contesting
the elections also do it. It is on the basis of findings by public opinion that
the candidates are in a better position to assess the general trends of public
opinion. Hence candidates and political parties, try to shape their policies in
the light of new and better requirements.
2. Voting(
an appraisal):-
As direct democracy is no more possible, due to the
high population of a nation, in the present times, whereas people are
practically taken into confidence only at times of elections held after
intervals; opinion polls can be instrumental in promoting public interest in
politics. It is generally observed that people show more interest in the
election of men then in the choice of issues. But the process relating to the
measurement of public opinion, promotes the interest of people directly in
policy matters. Hence they can be indirectly involved in the process of
policy-making. No doubt. Sometimes miscalculations take place in the results of
public opinion polls but such defects can be overcome through frequent use of
such methods.
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