From what has been said it must be clear that in our present civilization there are a vast number of publics and a vast number of public opinions. Upon every question of general interest, or even of interest to a comparatively few, there is at least one public opinion and perhaps several. There is the protectionist public, the free-trade public, the reciprocity public, and the tariff-for-revenue public; there is the historical public, the economic public, the sociological public, the psychological public, and the political-science public. Each of these may again form two or more publics. Those psychologists who pursue the inductive and laboratory methods form a public over against those who adhere to the a-priori method. In the realm of science and art we call them schools. There is the school of Austin, the school of Bentham, and the school of Mill; also the pre-Raphaelite, the impressionistic, and the romantic school. Each of these is a public with its own public opinion. When any new question of any importance comes up there are at once at least two opinions formed, defended by two publics. In the struggle for supremacy, one may gain such a predominance over the other as to be recognized as the ruling opinion. We then say that public opinion has pronounced its verdict, or that the weight of public opinion favors such and such a proposal, or simply that public opinion is in favor of this or that. We are prone to forget that there may be still an opposing public opinion. When we say that public opinion in the United States favors a protective tariff, what we mean is that among the several public opinions concerning the question of the tariff, that one which favors a protective tariff is predominant.
Every such term as public opinion, which is so difficult of strict definition, is, of course, used in a number of different senses. Usage varies. There are a number of other meanings which must be briefly reviewed. Public opinion is often used to signify the opinions in which all persons in a country are agreed; those opinions about which unanimity can be obtained. Thus Niebuhr wrote:[1]
- ↑ Quoted by Bluntschli in article on "Public Opinion" in Lalor, Cyclopedia of Political Science, Vol. III, p. 480.
