Public opinion is imperative for sustainable democracy

Md Abdullah Al Helal | Published: April 20, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Public opinion is commonly taken to mean the opinion of the public. Indeed public opinion is a shared aggregate phenomenon. It is a collective social entity, and publicity and awareness is necessary for its formation. It is the knowledge for hose who share values, beliefs and concerns that forges a host of discrete opinions into a viable social entity. Â
Democracy is often explained as "a government of the people, by the people and for the people."Â In a democracy the rulers are elected by the citizens. As such the rulers are answerable to the voting public.
Public opinion has paramount importance in a democracy. Freedom of speech and expression is the cornerstone of democracy. It plays a number of important roles in a representative democracy where leaders take public opinion into account when making laws and formulating policies. Â
Different facets of public opinion can work in different ways to influence policy maker's decisions. Public opinion confers legitimacy. Legitimacy by its nature has a strong normative component and is intimately related to the normative facet of public opinion.
Furthermore, public opinion has a huge impact on policy in a number of different ways. For one thing, public opinion is directly related to voting. Therefore politicians who serve in elected positions must attend to the desires of their constituents if they want to keep win reelection. Again, campaign funding comes from private sources, and candidates know that they must keep those sources happy if they want to secure campaign contributions.
The most significant legitimate reason for taking public opinion in consideration for formulating policies is that public opinion is an indicator of what are the problems faced by people and the kind of support and facilities desired by them. It enables the policy makers to understand what the people value and consider important. These insights help the policy makers in devising policies that best meet the needs and aspirations of people.
Public opinion can also act as a check on leadership as the members of the public can express their dissatisfaction with politicians who refuse to take their opinions into account and vote them out of office. In this regard, 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 allows the representatives to make decisions based on their interests.
Finally, people should be conscious enough regarding their opinion as it is the foundation of democracy.Â It may also be used inappropriately by public leaders to make populist policies that please the people in short-run and thereby help the leaders to remain in power, but in long-term harm the interest of the people.
The writer is Senior Lecturer, Northern University Bangladesh. helalabdullah@gmail.com