How does Speier define public opinion?
According to Speier (1950), public opinion is the expressions of the general public in regards to their concerns and likes. These expressions are directed to the government for the government to find a possible solution to an issue and implement them. Speier went ahead to define public opinion as to the expressions that portray communication that is targeted to the general public as a whole. However, it is not all the time that the government considers public feelings since they have the choice of viewing them or not.
Until the French Revolution writers feared that the public at large was unreliable due to superstition, prejudice, and excess passion. Who did earlier writers believe was likely to hold reasonable opinions?
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
During all that time, it was clear that the writers were afraid of meeting up with the public to collect and deliver information. Their claim as to why they feared them was that the society was filled with unfavourable features that were not good for the writers. According to the writers, the communities were not ready to welcome the visitors, and they were often rejected. It was not until the French Revolution that the situation got better for all the members. By this time, the writers could easily access the societies and gather all the data they wanted. This shows that the writers believed that the public or members of the community had reasonable opinions (Speier, 1950).
What does Speier mean when he says that "Public opinion is a phenomenon of middle-class civilization"?
The reasons as to why Speier termed public opinion as a phenomenon of middle-class civilization is due to the fact none of the individuals in the society acknowledged the importance and meaning of public opinion which was entitled to them. Public opinion involves people particularly of the middle-class in the making changes and implementations as well as amendments in the country (Speier, 1950).
What new ways to circulate information helped the new middle class learn about current affairs?
New ways for the middle-class to study more about the current affairs should revolve around finding new and simple ways for them to access the required information. Therefore, a stable and reliable channel for facilitating the process is required if they want to help the middle-class. Therefore, any form of existing communication needs improvement for it to be more effective. Another way of helping them is implementing new communication channels that are reliable for delivering information at the right time when needed (Speier, 1950).
References
Speier, H. (1950). Historical development of public opinion. American Journal of Sociology, 55, 4, 376-388 .
