Coming to Public Judgment: Making Democracy Work in a Complex World.

• Author: Wurf, Nicholas

Coming to Public Judgment: Making Democracy Work in a Complex World. Daniel Yankelovich. Syracuse University Press, $34.95. Along with negative TV spots, high-octane PACS, and shrinking voter turnout, the profusion of contradictory and confusing public opinion polls is often cited as a symptom of the unraveling of the American democracy. But in his new book, Coming to Public Judgment, public opinion analyst Daniel Yankelovich takes a rather refreshing perspective: Polls need not be part of the problem. They can even be part of the solution.

Rather than attacking the usual villains-poor leadership and shortsightedness-Yankelovich contends that our democracy faces a more fundamental threat from "the eroding ability of the American public to participate in the political decisions that affect their lives." The usually healthy balance between the expert and the public has shifted away from the people, and we are increasingly in the hands of what he terms "the culture of technical control." Drawing on his experience as one of the country's most thoughtful pollsters, he argues that we need the public to participate in making the hard choices that paralyze our elected leaders.

For a serious student of public opinion, Yankelovich's discussion of the inherent strengths and weaknesses of popular American thought is a judicious assessment. He concedes that "the public is pragmatic and poorly informed," but then asks: Are ignorance and the absence of a consistent political philosophy sufficient to dismiss the public as a potential contributor to the political process? The policy experts and much of the media would have us believe the answer is yes, but Yankelovich argues to the contrary.

He lambasts the media for being fascinated with opinion polls that show how ignorant the public is. Conduct a poll that reveals that the majority of Americans cannot name a single justice of the Supreme Court or locate Siberia on a map, and it is sure to get wide TV and newspaper coverage." But, as Yankelovich points out-and any pollster worth his salt would agree-current events knowledge is not the litmus test for being able to contribute usefully to the democratic process. You don't need to know what MIRV means to value arms control. The public brings something even more important to the table: evolving but enduring values that give it the means to evaluate difficult choices. The problem is that the public has (or will offer if questioned) an opinion on almost every...