Toward Wiser Public Judgment

This work revisits and expands upon Yankelovich1s seminal 1991 book, Coming to Public Judgment , which argued that people advance through several distinct stages to form politically meaningful judgments about public issues. In particular, citizens must "work through" the temptation to opt for easy answers or engage in wishful thinking, reconcile conflicting values, and come to terms with tough tradeoffs, before they can truly support a new course of action. The present work examines these themes in light of changing societal conditions, from the advent of the Internet and the weakening of traditional media to the proliferation of urgent and complex problems that cannot be put off without courting disaster. In his lead chapter, Dan Yankelovich urges us to move away from a "misleading model of public opinion" that "dominates the expert culture of our society, including journalists, scientists, business leaders, scholars, professional experts, and political leaders." He and the other contributors (Will Friedman, Keith Melville, Robert Kingston, Alison Kadlec, Steven A. Rosell, and Heidi Gantwerk) describe methods used by organizations like Public Agenda, National Issues Forums, and Viewpoint Learning, Inc., to advance the public's learning curve through various forms of civic engagement, education, dialogue and deliberation. They provide case studies of education reform in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and math and science initiatives in the Kansas City area, and examples of programs that have focused on issues ranging from energy and health care to US-Muslim relations. One chapter is a dialogue between Yankelovich and Friedman. While our political culture resonates to the public's desire for a stronger voice, it fails to ensure that this voice reflects anything more than the spin, spectacle, and excessive partisanship that dominate today's public discourse. Toward Wiser Public Judgment offers insights and strategies to counteract these troubling trends. How Americans Make Up Their Minds: The Dynamics Of The Public's Learning Curve And Its Meaning For American Public Life / Daniel Yankelovich And Will Friedman -- How To Achieve Sounder Public Judgment / Daniel Yankelovich -- Further Reflections: A Dialogue Between Dan Yankelovich And Will Friedman -- The Experience Of The National Issues Forums / Keith Melville And Robert J. Kingston -- Thirty-five Years Of Working On Public Judgment At Public Agenda / Alison Kadlec And Will Friedman -- Moving Beyond Polls And Focus Groups / Steven A. Rosell And Heidi Gantwerk -- Coming To Public Judgment: Strengthening Impacts, Exploring National Possibilities / Will Friedman. Daniel Yankelovich And Will Friedman, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This work revisits and expands on Daniel Yankelovich's seminal 1991 book, Coming to Public Judgment, which argued that people advance through several distinct stages to form politically meaningful judgments about public issues. In particular, citizens must "work through" the temptation to opt for easy answers or engage in wishful thinking, reconcile conflicting values, and come to terms with tough tradeoffs before they can truly support a new course of action, The present work examines these themes in light of changing societal conditions, from the advent of the Internet and the weakening of traditional media to the proliferation of urgent and complex problems that cannot be put off without courting disaster How Americans make up their minds: the dynamics of the public's learning curve and its meaning for American public life / Daniel Yankelovich and Will Friedman How to achieve sounder public judgment / Daniel Yankelovich Further reflections: a dialogue between Dan Yankelovich and Will Friedman The experience of the national issues forums / Keith Melville and Robert J. Kingston Thirty-five years of working on public judgment at Public Agenda / Alison Kadlec and Will Friedman Moving beyond polls and focus groups / Steven A. Rosen and Heidi Gantwerk Coming to public judgment: strengthening impacts, exploring national possibilities / Will Friedman. A collection of essays argues that we should move away from using political polls as the only way to bring public opinion into the political landscape and instead also incorporate other forms of civic engagement, education, dialogue and deliberation. Simultaneous.