Description
Book SynopsisQuantifying the American mood through opinion polls appears to be an unbiased means for finding out what people want. But in Numbered Voices, Susan Herbst demonstrates that the way public opinion is measured affects the use that voters, legislators, and journalists make of it. Exploring the history of public opinion in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day, Herbst shows how numbers served both instrumental and symbolic functions, not only conveying neutral information but creating a basis authority. Addressing how the quantification of public opinion has affected contemporary politics and the democratic process, Herbst asks difficult but fundamental questions about the workings of American politics.
Table of ContentsPreface Introduction 1: Quantification and Rationality 2: Numbers and Symbolic Politics 3: Techniques of Opinion Expression and Measurement 4: Partisan Politics and the Symbolic Use of Straw Polls, 1856-1936 5: Congressmen, Journalists, and Opinion Assessment, 1930-1950 6: Contemporary Public Opinion Research 7: Crowd Estimation and Public Opinion 8: Opinion Quantification and Democracy Notes Bibliography Index
